


Somewhere to Begin

by jane_x80



Category: NCIS
Genre: Adoption, Episode: s13e01 Stop the Bleeding, Episode: s13e24 Family First, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, First Kiss, Forced Marriage, Kid Fic, M/M, Slow Build, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-20 12:42:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 43,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10662837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_x80/pseuds/jane_x80
Summary: Nine months after the events of s13e24 Family First, Tony and Tali return to DC after an extended time abroad in order for Tony to figure out the best way to keep Tali. Tali's birth certificate does not list Tony as her father - that section had been left blank - and DNA test results indicate that Tony is actually not Tali's biological father. However, they are family now, and Tali is his daughter in everything but blood. There is no way that Tony will allow his daughter to be returned to Israel without him to be a ward of the state and he will do whatever he needs to for her.He returns to DC to begin again, to reconnect with his ex-NCIS colleagues, and to make a new life with Tali. And this time, everything he does is for her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Red_Pink_Dots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/gifts).



> This story is for Red_Pink_Dots who collaborated with me to create all the amazing artwork! Thank you for all your hard work. Everything was fabulous!
> 
> The title of the story comes from part of the lyrics of the song [Somewhere Only We Know](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW_ZiojrkVY), which is the main song I listened to while writing this.
> 
> Spoilers for: s13e24 Family First and some for events in s14. Nothing too spoilery but throughout the story I do make some references to things that happen in season 14. I haven't watched s14, nor do I plan to or wish to. The bits included I gleaned from discussions on LJ and elsewhere, so I have no firsthand knowledge of s14. Please excuse the inaccuracies in my understanding of s14. Look at this as an AU of what happens in the spring of 2017.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note that I will be adding to the tags as the story gets posted. Just so it keeps things a little interesting for us, and I don't give the whole story away too quickly. :D
> 
> As always, the story is complete and I will be posting one chapter a day (roughly) until it is all published.
> 
> Again, HUGE thanks to Red_Pink_Dots, not only for the fantastic artwork, but also for being an awesome collaborator and a good friend. Thank you. :D *hugs*

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

Anthony DiNozzo Jr sat in the lawyer’s office. She was someone that he knew from working at NCIS, and she was the fiercest advocate for at-risk children that Tony had ever seen. Which was a good thing. He needed that for Tali.

Speaking of Tali, he turned and spotted her playing with the myriad of toys in the kids’ corner in the suite, within plain view of the inner offices of Geri Friedman and her associates. The little girl’s brown curls and huge green eyes gleamed as she happily played with another little girl, no doubt another child in need of Friedman, Koster and Mitchell’s services.

“OK, run this by me again,” Geri said, frowning in concentration.

Tony sighed and rubbed his face. He was exhausted. He’d returned Stateside after nine months gallivanting across the world with a fucking toddler. What the hell he’d been high on when he made that decision, after having just met Tali, he didn’t know. He attributed it to the shellshock of Ziva’s death, suddenly becoming a father after inheriting a daughter he didn’t know he had, the crazy ending where they had all cornered Kort and just fucking shot him and showed him no mercy, and then the realities of being a single parent. He’d quit NCIS, thinking he needed to learn to be a father. Needed to learn to put someone before himself. Needed to learn to not keep putting himself in the line of fire because he had become Tali’s everything. Needed to distance himself from his stressful and dangerous life. So he’d quit and left DC.

All the while he’d wondered how the hell he could have fathered a child with Ziva when they had used protection that one time they’d had sex. That last night he’d been in Israel with her, they’d had one night of passionate fucking. But he had felt that it had been a huge mistake and something he’d regretted deeply, especially since he’d had to leave the next day. One last night, and he’d allowed Ziva to finally seduce him. Maybe it was a culmination of all those years of stupid unresolved sexual tension, or maybe it was a last ditch attempt at getting her to come back with him. He didn’t know. All he knew was they did finally get in a good fuck. And then she had said goodbye to him forever the very next day. That was the last time he’d seen her alive, and even now, all these months after she’d died, he still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that last night with her. Regret, sure, but he’d received such a beautiful gift, one that he couldn’t imagine not having anymore, and one that he was going to fight for. One night and he was now Tali’s father. He couldn’t regret that.

But he had wondered just how it could have happened. Of course they had used a condom. Tony was not careless about things like that. But then, protection failed at times. Nothing was 100% guaranteed. And after he’d taken Tali into his home, how many nightmares had he had, suddenly wondering how many of his one night stands had had a failure in prophylactics resulting in conception, and no way for the woman to contact him? How many little children had he fathered over all his years of womanizing? And thank god that half the time his one night stands had been men, because fuck, at least he knew for certain there were no children resulting from those trysts.

He had never wanted to bring children into the world. He knew that he would never be a fit parent. He’d had no role models to speak of – a sad, depressed, lush of a mother who died when he was eight, and then there was Senior. Well, enough said about Senior. He’d been neglected, abused, and finally disowned by the man by the time he was twelve. Whatever that man wanted to be now, he did it without trying to atone for his sins of the past, and while Tony loved him, he knew not to trust him. So he’d bought all these books about parenting and studied, and asked Jimmy for help in the beginning. And then the thing with Kort had totally unsettled him. Things with Gibbs were strained and tense and Tony had been close to bolting anyway by then, and the fact that Tony had been a part of that execution of Kort had ended up sickening him. Yeah, he was glad Kort was dead and Tali was safe. But he wasn’t proud of participating in that execution. Not really. It hadn’t been honorable. And it had been completely fueled by revenge. For the first time in his life, he had chosen to take the law into his own hands. Sure, he had certainly done his share of turning a blind eye and perhaps even aiding and abetting some of the shadier ops, where he couldn’t help but call into question the morality of the situation. But this time he had taken his own firearm out and used it to shoot and kill Kort after the man had been cornered. They had surrounded him and they had all shot him.

After it was over, Tony had been unable to look himself in the mirror for a week. Because, even though this man had been responsible for Ziva’s death and Tali had been in danger, he had willfully participated in Kort’s execution. He had been one of the many people to pull the trigger. Instead of slapping cuffs on the man and dragging him off to jail like the law enforcement officer that he was, Tony had helped to deliberately take Kort’s life – to put him in the ground and hide the evidence of it. To be judge, jury and executioner. They hadn’t even given Kort a chance to be arrested. They had all just gone in there with the intent to take his life.

It had been too much for him to take afterwards. He’d betrayed himself and his own sense of right and wrong. He’d stopped being an officer of the law when he did this. And whatever else he’d done in his life, he had always been a good cop. Killing Kort in cold blood changed that. And with Tali being dumped into his life just like that, he’d gotten overwhelmed by everything and he’d felt that need to leave, to not be that Tony DiNozzo anymore. He couldn’t remain in DC and pretend to uphold the law anymore. So then he’d gotten that hair up his butt, and taken Tali to Paris. And then to Israel. And they had traveled together, just the two of them, even though Tony didn’t know jack squat about toddlers.

Traveling with a two year old when his previous experience with children was allowing them to hug his legs before he ran screaming had been… challenging, to completely understate it. Luckily for him, strangers had been more than kind and had offered him help and useful advice, especially when they learned that the poor child’s mother had died and he was a new father, despite the fact that his daughter was a toddler. The reality that Ziva’s daughter was now his daughter. _His daughter._

And that was the whole problem then wasn’t it? At the end of the day, as it turned out, Tali _wasn’t_ his daughter.

“Tony?” Geri’s voice brought him back. “Start from the beginning.”

He turned to her and sighed again. “In May we found out… we found out that Ziva was killed in Israel.”

Geri nodded somberly. “I’m sorry, Tony. I know you were close.”

Tony nodded, accepting her words in silence. As always he was surprised by the stab of fresh pain that he felt every time he thought about the fact that Ziva had died. It still hurt him to know that even though she had isolated herself and left their dangerous life behind, that she had still died in such a senseless and violent way. And it always made him remember all the other women whose lives had ended in violence: Kate and Paula, and Jenny and Jackie Vance, and even poor Michelle who had betrayed her country in order to save her sister. So many deaths. So many dead women. And it never ceased to hurt.

“Tali was sent to me shortly after,” he continued. His face creased into a gentle smile as he glanced over and watched as his daughter built a tower made of colorful blocks and happily knocked it down. “Ziva had had her and raised her by herself. Tali somehow survived the blast that took Ziva and her house out. Some weird cosmic miracle,” he shrugged. “So they sent Tali to me as Ziva had indicated that she was my daughter. Asking me to ignore the fact that Ziva had had my baby and kept that knowledge from me for two years. Which I guess, isn’t a huge surprise, given my track record with relationships and with kids,” Tony’s tone turned bitter.

Geri put a hand on Tony’s. “Don’t excuse her from keeping you from your own daughter, Tony.”

Tony blew out a long breath. “Well, that’s just the thing. Even though Ziva told people, including Tali, that I was Tali’s father, she didn’t actually put that down on Tali’s birth certificate. So in order for me to keep Tali here in the US, and make her a citizen, I have to prove that I am her biological father. Otherwise, I have to go through the adoption process, as if I were a perfect stranger. I would have to adopt Tali. Given that she is Israeli, there are so many hoops to jump through in order to make that happen.”

“OK,” Geri was taking notes in a yellow legal pad.

“As it happens, I’m _not_ Tali’s biological father,” Tony’s voice dropped low. “Ziva either lied, or maybe she thought I was or wanted it to be me. I don’t know. I can’t speak for her. But DNA tests were conclusive. Tali is not my biological daughter.”

“Oh, Tony…”

Tony closed his eyes and scrubbed his face. “We just got the last of the DNA tests back,” he pulled out the envelope from his backpack, which these days carried extra clothes for both himself and Tali in case of accidents, and other supplies including diapers, wipes, toys, snacks, juice boxes, and books instead of the evidence bags and weaponry of his past as an NCIS agent. “The first test came back inconclusive, so we had more tests done and turns out, I’m not Tali’s biological father.”

“Who is he, and will he petition for custody of Tali?”

“Fuck if I know,” Tony sounded sad and defeated. “I mean, in the beginning I had all these doubts that Tali was mine. This is me, Geri. I always wrap up, and I’ve never intended to be a father. I can barely take care of myself, never mind some little helpless thing that would be completely dependent on me for survival? Fuck no. No, thank you. But then I met her, and Tali was beautiful and perfect and tiny and alone, and she had _my eyes_ , Geri. And Ziva said she was mine. Tali looked at pictures of me and called me ‘Abba’. Ziva had told her in no uncertain terms that I was her father. And look at her. She looks like me. What was I supposed to believe?”

Geri patted his hand gently. “OK. So you thought you were Tali’s father. And as always, you rose to the occasion.”

Tony flushed at that and waved it away. “It was a crash course in becoming a parent, certainly,” he snorted. “I had to learn. Whatever my feelings about fatherhood before Tali came along, it isn’t important anymore. I couldn’t abandon her then, and I certainly can’t do it now. She’s my daughter and the only thing that I have left of Ziva. And Tali is the sweetest thing. I’m still petrified that I’m going to ruin her life and make a million mistakes, but I’ve been her dad for the last almost ten months and I can’t give her up now. I _am_ her father. Hell, Ziva wanted it to be me enough to tell Tali that I was her father. Tali thinks I am her Daddy, and she thought that even before she met me. And fuck it, Geri. I love that kid. She’s my daughter now. I wish Ziva had told me we had a daughter together, so we could’ve done this bullshit paperwork while she was alive. But she did what she did, and obviously even though she’d thought that I was Tali’s father, she still was of the belief that I was apparently unfit to be a part of Tali’s life. But whatever. Ziva’s gone now, and I’m here.”

Geri listened, her expression sympathetic.

“So anyways, now that the paternity test has come back negative, I have to go the adoption route,” Tony said softly. “Once she’s legally my daughter, I can start her citizenship paperwork.”

“Wasn’t Ziva a citizen at the time of her death?” Geri asked. “I thought she’d been naturalized?”

“She’d officially given up her citizenship when she returned to Israel,” Tony muttered. “It was part of her penance. Part of her way of giving up her old life, her violent ways. She gave us all up. Including her US citizenship.”

“All right, so Ziva was an Israeli national and she gave birth to Tali in Israel?”

Tony brought out copies of Tali’s birth certificate – the original in Hebrew and a notarized translation of it. The father’s name had been left blank.

“Yeah, Tali was born in Israel. And Ziva left the father’s name blank, goddamn her,” he cursed. “If she’d put my name down officially, then we wouldn’t need the paternity test and all this stupid hoopla. If she’d thought I was Tali’s father, why didn’t she put my name down on this document? Because she gave me up as part of her old life? Then why did she even tell Tali I was her dad? I mean, obviously Ziva had had sex with other people during this time. She had to know it was possible I wasn’t Tali’s father.”

“OK, Tony,” Geri patted his hand soothingly. “OK. So say you don’t get to adopt Tali, what happens to her?”

“She gets returned to Israel and becomes a ward of the state until she’s eighteen,” Tony looked stricken. “We don’t have any idea who her biological father is or even if he’s able to care for her. She has no other family now. Only me. We know what the system looks like here, Geri. I don’t know what the system is like in Israel, but even if it is better than it is here, she would still be alone. She wouldn’t have me. I might be a piss poor excuse of a father, but god, I’m trying to do right by her. I _have_ been doing my best. She might not be my biological daughter, but she _is_ my kid. I’ve cared for her for all these months by myself, and I think I’m doing OK. Hell of a lot better than my dad ever did with me, although that’s not saying much. But at the end of the day, _I’m_ Tali’s father and I don’t care what the DNA tests say.”

Geri nodded. “OK. So, adoption then. What’s the issue with adoption from Israel that has you here with me?”

Tony pulled out a thick folder from his backpack and just handed it to Geri. “In a nutshell? I’m single. I’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore – not to say I’m old, but I’m not still thirty years old with a pretty blonde wife. I’m apparently not gainfully employed, at least not according to Israeli standards, and I don’t have a permanent domicile, now that I’ve sold my apartment in DC.”

Geri gave him a wry grin. “So basically, you got nothing.”

Tony shrugged, giving her a helpless grin.

“And you’re not old. We’re about the same age.”

“I am in my forties. No hiding that,” Tony grimaced. “And well, sure I’m single. I may have been a single father for the better part of a year, but my kid is healthy, happy, and she’s growing and learning so much. As to finances, I do have a more than steady income. I just don’t have a conventional real job at this time.”

“Income? Your retirement benefits from NCIS?”

Tony nodded and then cleared his throat, blushing slightly. “Yes, my retirement. I also get special disability payouts for health reasons from an on the job incident,” thank you to the permanently impaired lungs cause by the bioterrorism attack of the pneumonic plague, Tony finished silently in his head.

“Is there more?”

Tony sighed and hung his head. “I have a trust fund,” he admitted. “My mother and then my uncle left me more than enough,” he said quietly. “Plus… well. I’ve written some books.”

“ _What?_ ” Geri blurted out. “You’ve written some books? Have they done well? Are we talking _Deep Six_ well, or…”

Tony snorted. “McGee is an amateur,” he said derisively. “ _Deep Six_ was a shitty, poorly disguised bit of real life with no character development and plotlines taken straight from our cases. He was lucky he didn’t get sued for slander, or sent to prison for revealing bits of classified ops in his novel.”

Geri gasped. “Tell me what you really think, why don’t you?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Anyway, it’s good McGee stopped writing those books,” and that was all he would say about McGee’s books.

“OK, so what books did you write then? And it is book _s_ , right? As in more than one?”

Tony sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I have three different nom de plumes,” he said softly. “I’ve published some textbooks on criminology and psychology under ‘A. D. Paddington.’”

Geri googled it and gawked. “Tony! That’s _fantastic!_ ” she exclaimed. “College textbooks, and looks like used by a bunch of colleges all over the country. Well, this is totally something I can work with.”

Tony cleared his throat guiltily. “Well, the other two are the problematic ones.”

Geri stared at him, eyes wide. “Hit me with it.”

“I’m also ‘Antonia Delacroix’,” Tony muttered, keeping his eyes down.

“ _You’re_ fucking Antonia Delacroix???” Geri exclaimed, turning into a compete fangirl. “Antonia Delacroix has thirty published best sellers! I _love_ her work! She just totally gets me! It’s like she writes so personally. She knows what it’s like to be a real woman, none of the stupid damsel in distress, virginal idiotic dumb blonde shit you get from most romance novels! Fuck, I just bought the newest novel in hardcover!” Geri pulled it out of her bag.

Tony shrugged. “Yup. That’s me.”

“But, Antonia Delacroix has been writing for years! Since I was in college!”

“Since _we_ were in college,” Tony agreed. “My father had cut me off and disowned me when I was twelve, and I lived in boarding schools until I got a scholarship to OSU. I don’t know if you ever knew, but I played football and basketball there. My junior year, my shot at the NFL was over. Career ending broken leg. After that I ended up with a lot of time on my hands, trying to finish school, doing PT and whatnot because I couldn’t go to my regular part time jobs. I was a short order cook at an off campus diner and I also worked the kitchens in one of the dorms in the evenings, but both jobs I couldn’t do with a broken leg. And I still needed money. So I ended up writing and selling Antonia’s first novel during my recovery. I didn’t expect it to become a bestseller. My publishers thought they should hide the fact that I was a man, and hell, I certainly didn’t want to be known as the dude who wrote that romance novel. Can you imagine what my frat brothers would have done to me if they’d found out?” Tony grinned and shook his head. “Hence the secrecy and the pen name.”

“ _Fuck!_ ” Geri kept staring at him. “I don’t know how you’re still single! You really understand how a woman thinks, DiNozzo. I cannot fucking believe that Antonia Delacroix is a man, and it’s you. I’ve known Antonia Delacroix in person for over a decade. What a mindfuck.”

“Yeah, well,” Tony grinned. “Surprise.”

“You’re fucking signing my book. This book. That I paid full price to get a hardcover copy of,” Geri grumbled, shoving her book at him.

“You want me to sign as Antonia or as DiNozzo?” Tony snarked.

“Fucking sign my book already, DiNozzo,” Geri snapped.

Tony pulled a baggie out of his backpack, dug through the crayons and found a Sharpie. It was purple and glitter-y. Geri gave him a disbelieving look.

“I have a daughter,” Tony huffed. “She likes purple and she likes glitter. I don’t let her use it. She’s not even three years old yet. But she does like it. So I do artwork for her with it and it makes her happy. She gets the non-toxic crayons and the washable Crayola markers to play with.”

Geri giggled.

Tony scribbled words on the front, scrawled his Antonia Delacroix signature with a flourish and pushed the book back to Geri.

“ _To Geri, I’m very grateful for all your help. Love, Antonia Delacroix_ ,” she read out loud with satisfaction. “Hah. My book club is just gonna die. Nobody knows what you look like. You never do signings, but your autographed books sell like hotcakes. Not that I’m going to sell this. Because you know, I’m a fan. I really am.”

Tony chuckled. “I’ll sign each and every book you got, Geri, if you can help me with this whole adopting Tali thing.”

Geri nodded fiercely. “You’re keeping your kid, DiNozzo. I will do everything I can to make that happen for you.”

“Thanks.”

“So you said you have three nom de plumes?”

Tony blushed. “Um, I also publish as ‘Crispian Logan’?” he said tentatively.

Geri wasn’t familiar with that name and she frowned as she googled that. “You write gay erotica?” she asked in a hushed voice.

Tony nodded. “Yeah, well, I like dudes as much as I like chicks, and people like it when I write smut. Tried my hand at gay smut. They pay me well for it.”

Geri couldn’t help herself. She laughed. She burst into huge peals of laughter, making Tali look at them curiously. Tony raised his voice and told her to keep playing, and obediently she turned back to her toys after giving him a huge, toothy smile.

“Was that Hebrew?” Geri asked.

Tony turned, surprised. “Was it?” he hadn’t been thinking about it when he spoke to Tali. “Yeah, probably.”

“Did you speak Hebrew before this?”

Tony shook his head. “Only the cuss words. Learned them from Ziva. But Tali didn’t speak much English at first.”

“So you learned Hebrew for her?” Geri sounded surprised.

“Well, I needed to communicate with her. All the parenting books said communication was key, even for toddlers. Was I wrong?” Tony looked anxious.

“Holy god, DiNozzo. You’re giving me palpitations. You learned _Hebrew_ so you can speak to this kid that was dropped into your lap. And now they want to take her away from you and put her in an orphanage?”

“In Israel,” Tony added, nodding his agreement.

“Fuck!”

“That’s the long and short of it.”

“That is _not_ going to happen,” Geri was fiercely determined. “OK. So you obviously have plenty of income. Why the fuck were you working for NCIS then?”

“I liked being in law enforcement,” Tony said softly. “I always wanted to contribute. To serve and protect.”

“Fucking superhero,” his lawyer sighed. “And what was the problem with your publishing income then? You’re obviously still writing.” She shook his newly published hardcover as evidence.

“I write romance novels and gay erotica,” Tony was dead serious. “I have to disclose that. Israel and the INS are not going to find that appropriate for a single father who wants to adopt a child from Israel.”

Geri groaned and threw her pen down. “Oh for god’s sakes,” she sighed. “Right. Of course.” She muttered choice words about policies needing to get with the times before she nodded. “Here’s something we can fix, DiNozzo. You need to go buy a house. Buy yourself a nice house that you and Tali can live in. Are you thinking of moving back to DC or somewhere else?”

Tony nodded. “Everyone I know is here,” he confided. “I’d thought about moving to Columbus, Ohio where I went for my undergrad. But only a couple of my friends stayed there. We’re all scattered all over the country now. So at this point, DC has the highest concentration of the people that I know.”

Geri nodded. “Sounds reasonable to come back to DC then. It takes a village and all that.”

“I have to be able to secure the house though,” Tony bit his lip. “After what happened with Ziva, I need to have the best security.”

“I can understand that.”

“I’ll do some research and then I’ll buy a house.”

“Good.” Geri grinned at him. “You think you’ll want to get a job? Honestly, it wouldn’t even be for the money. It would be so we can show that you’re a responsible member of society, who can get and keep a job and isn’t just going to flake off. Makes you look good. Reliable. Responsible. Parent-like.”

Tony pursed his lips. “I was thinking about doing something like teaching,” he finally said slowly. “At a college, maybe? Or maybe checking to see if FLETC needs instructors. Nothing too strenuous. Nothing that’ll put me back in the field or in danger. But it would still give me flexibility and time to be with Tali. I wasn’t thinking to do it right away, though. I thought maybe when Tali starts kindergarten or something? But I can move up my schedule to get a job.”

“Good. If you can get a job, we can play up your trust fund, your pension from NCIS, and disclose that you’re a published author. We can downplay the less conventionally approved writing.”

Tony sighed in relief. “OK. That sounds good.”

“I don’t suppose you know any blondes who would marry you though?”

Tony threw up his hands. “I’m not really the marrying kind, Geri. How long have you known me? You actually think anyone is going to be happy with me in the long run?”

“You just need someone to marry you for about three years,” Geri flipped through the folders. “After that, the adoption will be final, and you can divorce their asses if you want.”

“A fake marriage?” Tony couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Being married would go a long way to your adoption petition,” Geri said absently. “And hell, it doesn’t have to be a woman. You can marry a man if you want. It won’t affect the adoption. Israel is open to gays adopting children.”

Tony groaned. “Seriously, Geri. I don’t know anyone who would marry me,” his voice was sad.

“Well, you think about it. Maybe you know someone who owes you a favor. Or maybe there’s someone you can blackmail. I don’t care. As long as they’re an upstanding citizen with a decent job, you’re golden.”

Tony nodded tiredly. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good. We’re going to make them let you keep your kid, DiNozzo.”

“Thanks. I appreciate all this.”

“Hey, can I ask, are you sure Ziva is the mother? I mean… after all the deception. I’m just kind of wondering…”

Tony gave her a tired look. “I wondered about it too,” he finally said. “DNA confirms that Ziva was Tali’s mother. So when Tali is eighteen, she will inherit a bunch of stuff from the David trust. I’m the executor of Tali’s trust fund and it’s a big one. I kid you not. That kid won’t lack for anything when she gains her majority. But I can’t let her go live by herself in an orphanage in Israel until she can fend for herself. With this trust fund waiting for her, and the fact that she’s Eli David’s granddaughter, I wouldn’t be able to trust anyone who might be interested in adopting her. I don’t want her to become leverage. And besides, she’s my kid, Geri. She should grow up with her father.”

“I know. You go get a job, and a house. And think about people who would make a good spouse.”

Tony nodded.

“We’ll get you through this. I appreciate you coming to me.”

“I know that if you can’t help me keep Tali, then no one else can,” Tony said solemnly.

They shook hands and Tony left her office, stepping into the waiting area. Geri watched as Tali ran and threw herself into Tony’s arms. Tony swung her up high in the air, making her giggle loudly, before he settled her comfortably on his hip, shook Geri’s hand again, and walked away, with a bounce in his step for the first time in weeks. It was time to get out of the Addams House Hotel and find a house for himself and for Tali.

[](http://imgur.com/Fa7iUsK)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that I have completely made up the adoption process and policies for adoptive parents (both US and Israeli) in order to write this story. I am sure what I've written is inaccurate because I made it all up. I have huge respect for adoption, adoptive parents, and un-traditional families, and while I don't want to take it lightly, the story needed for it to go the way it goes here. So, apologies, and I hope it doesn't offend anyone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG thank you for all of your lovely comments and kudos! I am so amazed and touched. And glad that you guys enjoyed the first chapter!
> 
> The fabulous artwork is by [Red_Pink_Dots](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots). Don't forget to give her a shout out for her lovely work! Tell her she needs to do an art masterpost! :D
> 
> Some reference to stuff that happened in s14 (no idea what the episodes were called since I didn't actually watch them) ;)

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

Tony found himself asking Ducky and Jimmy to help him and Tali look at houses. Jimmy, being a father himself, would have great input for child friendly features. Tony could look at it from a security standpoint. And Ducky? Well, he’d missed Ducky and wanted some time with him. Tony had been back in DC for a month, but hadn’t gotten in touch with anyone while he was trying to figure out the paperwork snarl of officially making Tali his daughter. Luckily for him, Orli was being more than cooperative. She helped by ensuring that Tali’s passport and visa were always current. Despite the issues with paternity, Orli was staunchly in his corner, backing his adoption of Tali. She was of the opinion that Ziva had thought that Tony was Tali’s father, and Tali thought that Tony was her father, and now, Tony thought the same thing. So there was no need to keep them from being father and daughter. It had been Ziva’s dying wish and Orli would do all she could to grant that. Perhaps it was guilt on her part, for having Ziva die on her watch, but Tony would take all the support he could get.

So Tony and Tali found themselves house hunting with the help of Jimmy and Ducky one Saturday morning. As they walked through house after house with Tony’s realtor that day, Tali snugly balanced on Tony’s hip as they looked at the different features, Tony also managed to catch up with his old friends, finding out how they had been doing and what had happened during the time that he’d been away.

After they had viewed four houses, Jimmy had to leave, and Tony took Tali and Ducky out to lunch. Tali sat in a booster seat, happily chewing on quiche at the café they were at.

“My dear Anthony, something else is troubling you,” Ducky said, without beating around the bush. “You admit that you have been in town for weeks without calling any of us. I can tell that something is wrong. What caused you to do this? Was there a reason that you did not inform any of us that you were back? Is it something that perhaps I can help with?”

Ducky’s gentle questioning was too much. Tony ended up pouring out his troubles, and Ducky listened, making sympathetic noises. When he was finished, Ducky nodded. “It sounds as if your attorney has a good plan.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah. Geri’s good. You remember her from that Warner case, god, ten, twelve years ago now?”

“Yes, indeed I do. You and Tali are in good hands.”

Tony nodded his agreement. “So yeah, I do need to move Tali and myself out of a hotel room and into a real house. That’s part of the reason why I’m looking to buy a house. To help strengthen my case. And you know, I wanted a house house, with a yard, that Tali can play in, instead of sticking us in an apartment with no room for her to breathe and grow.”

“That would be a very good thing.”

“But it’s got to be a secure house, and a secure yard. With my history, and Ziva’s history, and Eli David’s history? Fuck, Ducky. This house better be Fort Knox.”

Ducky chuckled and nodded his agreement. “And you are getting a job?”

“I’ve gotten a job. For the summer at least, for sure. Visiting Professor at Georgetown?” Tony said, blushing. “And if all goes well, they will extend the position in the fall for the next school year.”

“Congratulations, my boy! What will you be teaching?”

“Criminology,” came the quiet answer. “It’ll be the first time I get to actually teach using one of my own textbooks.”

“So you’ll be teaching as A.D. Paddington?”

Tony shook his head. “No. As myself. They won’t know that I wrote the textbook.”

Ducky chuckled at that little deception. “Well done, my boy. Did I not tell you, when you were considering dropping out, that furthering your education would not be a waste of your time?”

“You did, Ducky. You did. And you were right,” Tony agreed. “There were some terrible times, trying to get all my classwork done while working for Gibbs, and if you hadn’t given me all those pep talks, I would have dropped out. I’m glad I listened to you back then, because it did all work out in the end.”

“I was so very proud of you when you finished your doctoral studies, Anthony.”

“I know. And I appreciate it,” Tony blushed again. “I’m glad I told you about it back then.”

“I am too, dear boy. I understand why you were wary of telling your teammates, but I am glad that I could be there to encourage you when times were difficult.”

Tony smiled and patted Ducky’s hand fondly. He’d missed the old ME. Ducky had been a good friend to him for a long time and he’d missed him and his words of wisdom and his lovely allegorical stories while he’d been away. It was good to be home again and soak in the gentle brogue and the quiet support. Tony sighed, a mixture of relief and happiness. He was home again. It felt right for him and Tali to be back here. After all these years, DC _was_ home – with or without NCIS.

They ate in silence for a while, Tony playing with his daughter and drawing on her paper placemat with her.

“So now, I suppose you are looking to get married?” Ducky asked, surprising Tony.

Tony sighed. “Geri thinks that that would make a big difference in the adoption. But I don’t know. It’s kind of crazy, don’t you think? Me marrying someone? For any reason?”

“Are you seeing anyone at this time?” Ducky asked carefully.

Tony shook his head. “Nope. The only woman in my heart right now is this little one,” Tony chucked Tali’s chin, making her giggle and squeal, and yell “Daddy!” in mock anger.

“No men either?” Ducky had taken the bisexual thing and the writing gay erotica thing extremely well.

Tony shook his head. “I haven’t been on a date since well before Ziva died,” he rolled his eyes. “And now that I have Tali, I just can’t trust a babysitter, Ducky. Kort got to Ziva. I know he’s dead but who knows who else is out there gunning for me, or Ziva, or Eli. This kid’s family history is fraught with danger. So yeah. There’s no one like that in my life right now, man or woman. Hard to find ‘the one’ when you don’t put yourself out there. Hell, even when I was dating I still didn’t find ‘the one’,” Tony shrugged.

Ducky nodded, his blue eyes sympathetic.

“I really don’t think marriage is in the cards for me. I’ve been trying to find out from Geri how bad it would be if I tried the adoption as a single man.”

“Are you sure there isn’t anyone, Anthony? You have always been popular with the ladies. You are still young and still easy on the eye.”

“Popular? For one night, or for short term relationships, sure,” Tony agreed. “And well, Ducky, I’m not that young anymore, nor that easy on the eye.”

Ducky patted Tony’s hand, smiling at his self-deprecation. “What about Agent Keates? Perhaps she could help?”

“Zoe? She’s seeing someone else now. I already tried her,” Tony admitted. “She thinks he could be the one and I can’t stand in the way of love.”

Ducky sighed.

“I mean, sure I could try to find someone that looks good on paper, you know? Have a secret pre-nup that asks them to stay married to me until after the adoption is finalized, and then I can pay them a good sum of money for a divorce. But at the end of that, how can I trust someone I paid to marry me with the safety of my daughter? I can’t risk that with Tali, Ducky. I mean, this person could be someone who has a grudge on me or the Davids, or someone else might pay them more money to betray us, as overdramatic as that sounds. I wouldn’t be able to trust them. And even if they weren’t going to stab us in the back in the middle of the night, I can’t just introduce a person into Tali’s life who’s going to leave her in a few years, well, cause that would hurt her. I can’t put her through that kind of pain, getting attached to someone temporary. She’s not going to understand that.”

Ducky patted Tony’s hand. “You are a good man, Anthony,” he said softly, and Tony waved the words away dismissively.

They decided to order dessert to make up for the depressing turn of conversation, and afterwards coffee and wine. Finally, as Ducky was nursing his dessert wine and Tony a cappuccino, Ducky turned serious eyes at him. “If I were younger it would be an honor for me to offer to marry you, Anthony. But I am old and at this time, I would only be a liability to your adoption suit,” he said solemnly.

“Oh, Ducky! I could never take advantage of you like that!”

“Nonsense, I would gladly marry you and help you keep this beautiful young lady if it would strengthen your case,” Ducky smiled at Tali who smiled back happily. “My word, she is such a beautiful child! But, with my age being what it is, marrying me would be detrimental to your adoption petition. Abigail would no doubt be willing to marry you to help you, but she would not be a good candidate either. She’s far too honest and impulsive. She wouldn’t be able to resist telling her friends the nuns that your marriage is merely one of convenience, and there is no doubt that the INS and the Israeli authorities would interview the nuns to ascertain the status of your sudden marriage.”

Tony laughed. “Oh my god. No. Not Abby. She makes a great aunt for Tali, for sure. But I can’t imagine living with her without losing my mind.”

“She has an infinite wealth of energy,” Ducky agreed, eyes twinkling merrily.

“It would drive me up the wall. Especially after all these months of living so quietly with Tali. If I were to marry Abby and have her move in with us, I don’t think Tali or I would take all that bubbly enthusiasm well.”

“Technically, I suppose, you wouldn’t need to live with whomever you married. As long as it appears as if they were living with you.”

“You are a devious man, Ducky,” Tony grinned.

“I haven’t lived this long without learning some tricks, young man. I could tell you a story or two, but I believe we have more pressing issues to discuss.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Perhaps Eleanor might marry you? Have you considered asking her to help you? I believe she wouldn’t say no, and she would be cautious about revealing the nature of your relationship to anyone.”

“Bish?” Tony shuddered. “She’s so young! And she had a divorce, and her boyfriend died. That poor kid has enough on her plate. She doesn’t need to get embroiled in a fake marriage with me in order to enable me to adopt a child that she has absolutely no connection to,” he shook his head. “She didn’t even know Ziva!”

“Then you must ask Jethro to marry you.”

“ _What?_ ”

“You were partners for fifteen years. It makes sense. Your return to Washington DC could be made to look as if you wanted to be with him again, perhaps even suggesting a relationship that predates Tali being sent to live with you by several years.”

“ _What?!_?” Tony’s eyes were as wide as saucers, and Tali started looking concerned. Tony calmed her before he turned back to Ducky. “You can _not_ be serious.”

“I am very serious. Jethro kept you as his second for fifteen years.”

“Gibbs _abused_ me for fifteen years, and I was stupid enough to stay at least ten years too long,” Tony spat out.

Ducky sighed. “I don’t dispute that, Anthony,” he said sadly.

“I haven’t forgotten how Gibbs treated me the last year I was at NCIS. It was bad after I took Daniel Budd down, Ducky. Not that it had been great for years, but it was just awful after that. I can’t go back to that. I’m not subjecting myself to that-that mental abuse, and I’m not subjecting Tali to that either.”

“Jethro would be kind to Tali, you know that to be true.”

Tony sighed. “Fine, he would be good to her. But he won’t be good _to_ me or _for_ me.”

“You won’t be his subordinate anymore. You would be equals. He would be your partner. A temporary partner.”

“Three years is a long effing time to tie myself to Gibbs,” Tony looked mutinous, but still keeping his language clean in front of Tali. “Not to mention, how would I even approach him about this? It’s absurd. Completely out of the question.”

“Just think about it, my boy.”

Tony grimaced at that.

“It is entirely too bad that Dr Palmer is happily married. He would have made an excellent spouse for you and a good father for Tali.”

Tony laughed. “My god. Black Lung would have been an excellent choice,” he agreed.

“Will you at least think about it?”

Tony snorted. As if he would be able to think of anything else now that Ducky had put that idea in his head.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was very late at night. Tony carefully bundled the sleeping Tali into her car seat and drove his black SUV along a very familiar route. He ended up parked in the driveway of the house that he’d been to a thousand times, and sat out there for long moments before he finally looked around and got out of his car. He carefully unbuckled his sleeping daughter, and carried her to the front door. He made sure to push the button on his key fob and lock his car with a quiet beep. Before he could do anything, the front door of the house opened and the man that had been his boss and mentor for fifteen years glared at him.

“Took you long enough to decide to come in,” Gibbs snapped.

“Shhh, Tali’s asleep,” Tony said quietly, unaware that he was swaying gently, rocking the sleeping child in his arm.

Gibbs’ expression softened and wordlessly, he opened his door wider and gestured him in with a quick jerk of his head.

Tony walked in and went straight to the downstairs guest room, placing Tali gently down on the bed, ensuring that the blanket she was wrapped in covered her securely, and rubbing his hand on the soft curls on her head before he returned to the living room. Gibbs was waiting for him and held a beer out to him, and they clinked bottles, each taking a swig of their beer.

“How long have you been back?” Gibbs asked.

“Over a month,” Tony said. “I’m looking to buy a house.”

“Here?”

Tony nodded. “Got a job. Teaching at Georgetown. Starts during their summer sessions.” Tony found himself falling back into the terse, report-giving speech patterns when summarizing his current situation to Gibbs. It was both annoying and oddly comforting.

Gibbs nodded. “Didn’t think you needed to work? I always knew you were independently wealthy.”

Tony shrugged. “Turns out, I need to prove that I have a steady income and am a responsible adult and can be a responsible father.”

“Why?”

Tony grimaced. “Technically, I’m not Tali’s biological father.”

“ _What?_ ” Gibbs spat his beer out in shock.

“Yup. She didn’t put my name on the birth certificate, so in order to make Tali a US Citizen, I have to prove paternity. And DNA results say no,” Tony pursed his lips. “I think maybe Ziva thought I was or she wanted it to be me, I don’t know. But I’m not Tali’s bio dad.”

“Who’s the father then?”

“No clue. His DNA isn’t in any database that we can match Tali’s to. And I’ve even looked in Israel to see if I can find him. Orli helped me with that. But even Mossad can’t tell who else Ziva fucked in that same timeframe. She led such a quiet life, away from cameras and electronic surveillance. Something she did for good reason, I suppose. But who Tali’s biological father really is, we don’t know and can’t find out.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. Even so, Tali is my kid now.”

Gibbs nodded approvingly. “How do you get to keep her?”

“Adoption.”

“OK. How’s that going?”

“Well, I have a job, I’m looking to buy a house, but the biggest thing is I’m not married.”

“Adoption is pretty hard to do when you’re single,” Gibbs nodded, his eyes full of understanding and empathy.

Tony nodded. “Because of that, I’m here to call in all the favors you owe me.”

“ _I_ owe _you_?” Gibbs glared at him. Sympathy and understanding only went so far with the man. “For what?”

“I took your shit for fifteen years, Gibbs,” Tony’s voice was quiet but his eyes glinted fiercely. “You made me your whipping boy, and the brunt of all the jokes, even though I was good at my job and I did more than you ever asked.”

Gibbs’ expression changed, to something Tony thought might even be regret.

“I’ve kept all your dirty little secrets, covered for you when maybe I shouldn’t have, and you still treated me worse than you would a dog. So yeah, Gibbs. You fucking owe me. I could have undermined your authority at any point in time, but I didn’t. That would have made me as petty as you were. And that’s not who I am. You treated me worse than shit last year, Gibbs, and that’s a big part of why I had to leave. It wasn’t just Tali and Ziva and the whole ridiculous situation with Kort and all that running around crazed with vengeance. I was done with you and with NCIS for sanctioning your treatment of me.”

Gibbs stared at him in shock.

“But all that is irrelevant now. What _is_ relevant is that I need to keep Tali safe. She’s my daughter. I don’t care what some stupid DNA test says. She’s my daughter, and I will do everything in my power to continue to be her father. I won’t be that guy who just dumps her into the system because she’s not his biological daughter. In everything but blood, she’s _my_ kid.”

Gibbs nodded, still silent.

“So now, I’m calling in all of my markers and all of Ziva’s as well. This is what I need from you. I need you to marry me. I need for us to have had a ‘relationship’ that went back at least a few years, that we kept secret because I worked for you. But now that I don’t work for you anymore, and I’ve had time to cool off and adjust to being a father, we can ‘reconcile’. And get married. And I need for this to happen in the next few weeks so I’ll be able to start the process to formally adopt Tali and make sure that Ziva’s daughter stays safe and has a good life with someone who loves her.”

Gibbs’ mouth fell open.

“My lawyer says the adoption can take up to three years to finalize. So I only need to be married for that long. After I’m officially Tali’s father, and the adoption is finalized, we can get a divorce. I won’t offer you any financial compensation for this. I won’t insult you like that by offering you money to marry me. But at one time we were sort of friends. And we’ve saved each other’s lives plenty of times. And we both certainly have saved Ziva’s life and vice versa more than enough times as well,” Tony threw out the reminder grimly. “I’ve never tried to make you look bad in front of your team, and I’ll continue to do that for you. I don’t even care if you move in with us or not. You can live here in your own home, as long as we pretend you live with me part of the time and you connect with Tali and be one of the people I trust to protect her, and we can try to make this farce of a marriage somewhat believable.” Tony’s words were determined and serious. “All I ask is that after I’ve adopted Tali and we are divorced, I ask that you don’t just fall out of her life completely. That would devastate her. I can’t put her through that, have her get attached to someone who’s supposed to be a parental figure for a couple of years, and then have him drop her and ignore her completely after this whole adoption thing is over. She’s a good kid and she doesn’t deserve the kind of pain that comes from the rejection of a parent.” He broke off, the words hitting too close to home. Because if anyone knew the pain of a parent’s rejection, Tony certainly did, and there was no way he would put his daughter through that.

Tony stopped speaking then and stared at Gibbs, who was still stunned into silence. He nodded understandingly to the older man. He knew why this request would seem to have come out of left field. They had only ever been colleagues. There might have been a weird friendship somewhere during their time together, but towards the end of his career at NCIS, that friendship had been completely trashed and Tony had been glad to leave the agency to be free of the tension and weirdness that remained between them.

“I’ll give you a few days to think it over, Gibbs. There’s no one else who can help me with this. No one I trust more with the safety of my daughter, and who could be somewhat believable as my spouse. The fact remains that you owe me. Ziva’s daughter deserves to be with someone who loves her. Ziva’s daughter deserves to be with me, her father. You can help me with that.”

Gibbs just kept staring wordlessly at him.

“I’ll be by in a few days for your answer.”

Tony put the still mostly full bottle of beer on the nearest flat surface and went to retrieve his sleeping daughter from the guest room. Before Gibbs could even muster any words, Tony had disappeared, buckling his daughter back into the car seat and driving away.

“That went well,” Tony told himself, as he drove back to the Addams House, even as his belly churned with unease with what he had just done. He’d just tried to blackmail Gibbs into marrying him so he could adopt Tali. What the fuck was his life coming to? And he’d done this because, of all people, Ducky had put the idea in his head.

“Fuck my life,” Tony whispered vehemently, before he glanced guiltily into the rearview mirror to see his daughter’s sleeping form, securely strapped into her car seat. That sight calmed the churning in his belly. He was doing this for Tali, and for Tali he would do everything he could to keep her safe. She deserved a good childhood and a good life, and he was damned if he wasn’t going to be the best fucking father that kid could have.

He took a deep, calming breath, his resolve back in place. He could do this. No problem.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, many thanks to [Red_Pink_Dots](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots) for the amazing artwork! :D

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

Two nights later, there was a quiet knock at the door of Tony’s suite at the Addams House. Tony had been half asleep on the couch in the living room, keeping half an eye on a late night talk show on TV. Tali was fast asleep in her room and he had the baby monitor with him.

Reflexively, he felt for his weapon on his belt, but realized that he wasn’t on duty. He wasn’t carrying his service weapon anymore and hadn’t been for months and months. He had a gun, sure, but it was locked away in his gun safe up high, far away from Tali’s reach. He brushed his ankle and ensured that his knife was sheathed there before he went to look through the peephole to see who it was, standing to the left of the door to ensure that his shadow didn’t appear beneath the doorway.

Paranoid? Maybe. But he wasn’t taking any chances when it came to Tali’s safety.

To his surprise, it was Gibbs. He pulled back, frowning. Then Gibbs knocked again, still quietly, but this time with more urgency. Sighing, Tony undid the deadbolts and opened the door.

“Hey,” Gibbs greeted him. “Sorry it’s so late. Just got off work.”

Tony gawked at him. Had Gibbs just use the ‘s’ word? Mister ‘Never say you’re sorry’ himself? Wasn’t that one of his own goddamned rules?

“Can I come in? Didn’t wake you, did I?”

“I was awake,” Tony unfroze and waved him in. He peered both ways down the hallway to ensure that they were alone, before he closed and re-locked the door. “But Tali’s asleep, so keep it down. I was going to stop by your house tomorrow for your answer,” he told the older man. “Figured three days was polite. Drink?”

“Beer, if you have it.”

Tony went to the full-size refrigerator in the suite’s kitchen and pulled a bottle of beer out. He opened it and handed it over, flicking the bottle cap into the trash bin without even looking at it. “So… What brings you by?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Do what?”

“Marry you.”

“Come again?” Tony had to ask. He couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

Gibbs cleared his throat. “I’ll marry you,” he stated clearly.

“I wasn’t even sure you’d heard everything I said that night.”

“I heard you.”

“Oh-kayyyy,” Tony frowned thoughtfully. “I expected more of an argument from you. Where are the usual Gibbs’ fireworks?”

Gibbs shrugged, eyes hooded. He was acting shifty. He was acting as if he was feeling guilty. Tony knew him well enough to see it and he wondered what Gibbs was feeling guilty about. After all, Tony had been the one to blackmail him into this. If anyone should feel guilty, it was Tony.

“You were right. I do owe you,” Gibbs told him. “And I can’t let Ziva’s daughter go into the system in a foreign country. She should be here with her father. With you.”

“If you’re yanking my chain, I’ll tell you right now…”

“Not yankin’ your chain, DiNozzo. I’ll marry you. For Tali.”

Tony nodded, suddenly filled with relief. “Good,” he breathed, sagging against the refrigerator. “That’s good.”

“I have one condition.”

Tony straightened up and walked back towards the living room. “Of course you do,” he said grimly. “Hit me with it.”

“After the adoption is finalized, I don’t want a divorce.”

Tony’s emerald green eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“No divorce.”

“What, you want an annulment instead? I’m sure we can arrange that.” Tony snorted, and swallowed the rest of his response. There would be no issues with getting an annulment if that was what Gibbs wanted, especially since there was no way Gibbs and he would be consummating this marriage.

Gibbs growled. “No,” he muttered. “I’ve had three divorces. I vowed I was done with marriage, but I’ll do this for Tali. So this is my last marriage. We stay married after.”

“You want to stay married to me,” Tony’s disbelief was obvious. “What? For how long?

“Indefinitely.”

“ _Indefinitely??_ ”

Gibbs nodded.

“I don’t understand,” Tony frowned. “Why would you want to stay married to me once they can’t take Tali away from me? I won’t need a husband after that. Neither will you.”

“No more divorces for me,” Gibbs stated. “Three is enough.”

“So this is about the number of divorces that you’ve already had?”

Gibbs shrugged.

“That doesn’t even make any sense, Gibbs.”

Gibbs only response was a silent stare.

“Am I your Plan B? Stay married to me so you can’t shoot yourself in the foot and marry another crazy redhead?”

Gibbs’ stare turned into mostly a glare, but still silence. He was in one of those moods, Tony could see. Gibbs was going to hang tight to this ridiculous stipulation and not give him a good reason for it.

“You might meet someone and fall in love,” Tony suggested.

The blue eyed man snorted in disgust at the idea.

“OK. _I_ might meet someone and fall in love.”

Gibbs snorted again.

“Hey! It _could_ happen,” Tony was instantly defensive.

“If you meet someone and fall in love, then we can get divorced. Or if you really wanted a divorce, I won’t force you to stay married to me.”

Tony sighed. “I’m not going to be your whipping boy anymore, Gibbs,” his green eyes were serious.

Gibbs nodded, but Tony could see the muscles moving in his cheek. The man was gritting his teeth.

“I don’t work for you, and I don’t take orders from you anymore,” Tony continued. “You won’t speak to me as if I were dirt, especially not in front of Tali.”

Gibbs nodded quietly.

“You will treat me with courtesy, and I will do the same to you.”

Another nod.

“You will not slap me around. Especially not above the neck.”

Again, Gibbs nodded.

“If you disagree with me, we will conduct a calm discussion out of Tali’s presence.”

Gibbs nodded his acceptance.

“There _will_ be consequences if you disrespect me in front of my daughter,” Tony said quietly. “I won’t allow her to think it’s OK to say or do hurtful things to people with no regard for their feelings. How can I teach her to be polite and kind if you run around treating me exactly the way I tell her not to treat anyone else?”

“I understand,” Gibbs was speaking through gritted teeth.

“If she’s at school or something, then you can treat me like shit again.”

“I’m not going to treat you like shit at all, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said impatiently.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Gibbs,” his tone was derisive.

Gibbs just stared at him.

“No divorce?” Tony repeated.

Gibbs nodded.

Tony thought for a minute before he sighed. “So how about this – we can stay married after the adoption is finalized, unless one or the other of us has a reason to ask for a divorce.”

Gibbs nodded. “That’s fair.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll make an appointment to get our marriage license and we can get married at the courthouse,” Tony said. “We can get it done before the end of this week.”

“No,” Gibbs shook his head.

“No?” Tony was surprised.

“For the adoption, it should look more real.”

Tony gawked at him. “What?”

“Make it real. We’re getting hitched. For all intents and purposes, this is permanent. We should have a wedding.”

“So… you want us to have a _wedding?_ ”

Gibbs sighed. “It doesn’t have to be huge, and neither of us needs to go buy a white dress that looks like a meringue. But it should feel real. Friends should be invited.”

“You want to invite our _friends_ to this wedding?” Tony repeated. “You realize that this is a fake marriage, right? For Tali’s sake. For the adoption?”

“I know. But you wanted to make it believable. I’m making it believable,” Gibbs nodded. “You gave me the backstory the other night. We’ve had an existing relationship for years and we’re coming out with it now. We have a long history together. Lots of friends in common. They’ll want to be there for us. And we’d want them to be there to witness our happiness and shit.”

Tony made a face.

“Fine. _You_ have friends. I have maybe three friends and you’re one of them. We still should invite the people who care about us. You can invite other people too, people I don’t know. Your frat buddies or something. I don’t know.”

“Huh,” Tony’s eyes were still wide. “And where would this mythological wedding take place? Cause I gotta tell you, I’m a really lapsed Catholic and they have real strict rules against gay marriage. Besides, even for straight marriages, they have classes and shit they like for you to take in order to get married. My cousin Peter had to go through a buttload in order to get married in the church that his wife wanted to get married in.”

“I figured we could get married in my back yard. It’s pretty big. We could have a nice ceremony and a reception right out there afterwards.”

All Tony could do was breathe in and out a few times, blinking stupidly. “You want to throw a wedding in your back yard and invite our friends to it? A wedding? For _us?_ ”

“It’ll look real to the adoption people.”

“Huh,” Tony said again. “This is fucking surreal.”

“Look, you asked me to marry you. I’m saying yes. I want you to be able to keep being Tali’s father. But I don’t want a divorce. So, let’s do this right then.”

Tony stepped backwards until he tripped over a chair, and sat in it. “I guess we’re getting married in your back yard then,” he sounded breathless.

“Have you bought a house yet?” Gibbs asked.

Tony shook his head.

“Still looking?”

Tony nodded.

“I want to come with you when you look at houses. I’m handy and I can help with evaluating the structure of the house and that kind of stuff. Stuff you’ve never cared about.”

“OK,” Tony nodded dumbly. Gibbs was speaking the truth. He’d always been useless about home maintenance. It’s why he had loved his apartment, although now that he knew about the dead guy in his floorboards, it was kind of nice to know that McGee was the one who’d had to deal with that mess.

“It’ll look good if I come too. Like we’re in a real relationship.”

“Yeah, o-of course. Makes sense.”

“When are you meeting your realtor next?”

“Saturday morning.”

“Pick me up?”

Tony nodded again.

“After we look at houses on Saturday, we can go look at rings.”

Tony started hyperventilating. “You want to… I can’t believe… I mean… _ring shopping?_ ”

Gibbs grinned, his blue eyes twinkling. “We’ll need rings. Pretty standard for a wedding.”

“Right, of course.”

“Sound good?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And don’t worry about the wedding details. I’ll talk to Abby and have her arrange everything. You know she’s going to love planning this party.”

“OK.” What else could Tony say?

“I’m thinking we can get married a week from next Saturday? Is that soon enough for you?”

“S-sure.”

“Abby will call you soon. She’ll want to know who you want to invite. You have the same cell phone number?”

“Yeah. Same number.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you soon then.”

“Sure thing.”

“Come by work some time for lunch so I can spend more time with Tali before we get married.”

“Right.”

“And maybe we can have dinner together a few times this week? With Tali. She should get used to me being around a lot more.”

Tony nodded, fast losing his ability to make any real words, and just grunting his assent at Gibbs’ words. Fuck, he wasn’t even married to the man yet and he was already adopting his bad habits.

“Sound like a plan?”

Grunt.

“Good. I’ll be in touch.”

Grunt.

There was a long pause where Gibbs just stared at Tony, a small smile on his face.

“It’s good to have you back, DiNozzo,” he said quietly. “You look good.” And then he left, leaving Tony sitting heavily on the chair, wondering what the hell just happened.

Many minutes later, Tony finally snapped back to himself. “Guess I’m getting married,” he said, full of wonder. He took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “Fuck. What the hell have I gotten myself into?”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony was sleepy and grumpy and completely out of sorts the next morning, when he was fixing Tali her breakfast. He was on his third cup of coffee and trying to function after basically not sleeping all night, his brain jangling with weird thoughts.

“Abba, we go park today, _s’il vous plait?_ ” Tali asked. Her English was coming along but she often mixed her languages. The time they had spent in France had obviously affected her. For the most part, she had switched to calling Tony ‘Daddy’ but sometimes she went back to Abba. Tony just answered to either.

“Sure, baby. We can go to the park.”

“I like to swing,” she declared.

“I know you do.”

“Daddy pushes Tali on swing?”

“I will, baby.”

Tali’s smile was luminous as she ate her pancakes messily, using her fingers as well as the little plastic fork Tony had given her.

Tony’s phone chirped and he glared at it suspiciously, wondering if it was Bizarro Gibbs calling him. It wasn’t. It was Abby. Sighing, he answered.

“Hey Abs…”

“Tonyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!”

And then he completely lost all hearing in that ear when Abby’s squeal reached unbelievable heights.

“Abs, dogs in Oregon are howling in protest,” he complained, when she finally stopped to breathe.

“You’re marrying the Boss, Tonyyyyyy!!!” she screamed again, thankfully with less volume and at a pitch more suitable to humans rather than dogs.

“Yeah. I got that memo.”

“Why aren’t you more excited about this? I know you’ve always had a thing for Gibbs. Don’t deny it. It’s why you stayed so long.”

Tony sighed. “Is that what Gibbs said?”

“Nope. I just always thought that.”

“What did Gibbs say?”

“Bossman said you guys are getting married, a week from next Saturday at his house and I’m in charge of making it happen,” Abby said proudly.

“Yeah. That’s about it.”

“Early April will be lovely in his back yard. I think he has lots of tulips, narcissi, hyacinths and other spring flowers blooming right now. Although I haven’t been back there in a while. I’ll make a note to go check it out and see what needs to be done to get it ready for your wedding.”

Tony grunted a response.

“I can get everything organized and make this happen and before you know it, you’ll be walking down the aisle to marry the Bossman, Tony! Right in his back yard! It’s going to be so beautiful and so romantic!”

Another grunt. There it was again. The grunting. Fuck it. Was he turning into Gibbs?

“But even though I can organize the hell out of stuff, I can’t invite people if you don’t tell me who you want me to invite. So, email me your guest list by end of day today. Get your marriage license early to be sure. Gibbs gave me the names of two judges that you both like and I’ll see if one of them can officiate.”

“OK.” It was barely more than a grunt but it was the best Tony could do.

“Also, I think Tali would make an _adorable_ flower girl. Don’t you?”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a migraine starting. “Yeah?”

“Good. Also, I _can’t believe_ you guys hid that you were already in a relationship before this!! How long have you been together?”

“What did Gibbs say about that?” Tony asked cautiously.

“Why do you keep asking me that? You’re not going to turn into one of those husbands, are you, that’s all like ‘Whatever you say, dear’? Cause that ain’t you and I’m not going to let even Gibbs get away with turning you into a Stepford Wife. Not that you’d be the wife. Hell, I don’t know. Maybe you _would_ be the wife because I just can’t imagine Gibbs as the wife.”

“Abby!” Tony had to stop the stream of verbal chatter assaulting his ears. He didn’t need to hear about whether or not Abby thought he was the wife or if Gibbs was the wife. Shit, neither of them was the wife in the relationship. They didn’t even have a relationship. This was all fake. And besides, if Abby would stop for a second, she’d realize that both he and Gibbs were men. All they were doing was getting married, damn it. Tony wasn’t going to be Gibbs’ wife. This was an arrangement so that if he was lucky, he’d get Tali after three years. He was not planning to be anybody’s wife before or after that. “Stop making me the girl in the relationship!”

“Oh shit. Are you telling me that you top Gibbs?” Abby shrieked.

“I’m not saying that!”

“Oh my god. So Gibbs _always_ tops? You guys should totally switch sometimes. Although it’s true I’ve been told that it’s better when you bottom, anyway. But what do I know? I don’t have a prostate. Sometimes I wish I did because hell, it sure sounds like fun. Imagine a woman with both a g-spot and a prostate? Shit, I would never get out of bed. Who even needs a partner when you have plenty of toys to just keep you going. Or coming, I guess. Lots and lots of coming involved.”

“Holy f-fudge, Abby. Stop talking! Please!” Tony groaned, barely stopping himself from swearing in front of his daughter, who was looking at him with great interest, eyes shining brightly. The kid was too damned smart for her own good. “I’m not going to turn into a Stepford wife, especially since I’m not going to _be_ a wife.”

“Oh right. But… are you going to tell me if Gibbs lets you top him sometimes?”

“Gibbs doesn’t _let_ me do whatever. I’m fully capable of making my own decisions. But I am not going to tell you anything about s-e-x with Gibbs,” Tony whispered vehemently as he glanced guiltily at his daughter, spelling the word out rather than saying it out loud. Good god, he was so going to avoid the subject of sex with Gibbs with any and everyone who even thought of bringing it up. Especially since there was no sex between them, there never had been, and there never would be. Gibbs would never look at him for sex, for one. And secondly, well, really, who even needed a secondly. It all boiled down to why the fuck would Gibbs ever want to fuck him? It wasn’t even a remote possibility.

“Ahhhh, Tali’s right there, isn’t she?” Abby giggled.

Tony’s grunt of reply was definitely one of Gibbs’ ‘I’m very annoyed and about to kill you and the answer is yes, dumbass’ grunts.

“All I asked was, what did Gibbs say about… our past history?” he managed to grit out.

“Relax, Tony. Gibbs said nothing. He just walked away when I asked him that question.”

He couldn’t help the quiet grunt of approval that escaped him after that.

“So? How long have you guys been running around doing the nasty in secret?” Abby asked, full of gleeful curiosity.

Tony suppressed a groan. “It’s hard to quantify.”

“Lots of off and on?” Abby said sympathetically. “Bossman is hard to live with. I can imagine what he must have put you through.”

Tony sighed. “He has his good qualities and bad qualities,” he said noncommittally.

“Well, I’m glad you guys figured things out. He’s been weird since you’ve been gone. Very un-Gibbs like. I think he’ll be back to normal now that you’re back together.”

“I’m sure he will,” Tony said, rubbing his face tiredly.

“I’m _so_ excited for this, Tony! You’re getting married!”

“Yeah, Abs. Me too.” Not, Tony added silently to himself.

“I’ll bet you are! Hey, you think McGee is going to shit a brick when he hears about this?”

Tony groaned.

“I wasn’t terribly surprised to find out that you’re into men, to be honest. And besides, the Bossman is a silver fox. Your silver fox, Tony,” Abby giggled. “But McGee has some pretty set ideas about who people might be into.”

“Abby…”

“Well, we’ll find out what he thinks soon enough, I guess!”

Tony got rid of Abby as quickly as he could as she was still babbling about bachelor parties and other meaningless wedding details about which he couldn’t care less. Tali looked at him curiously.

“Daddy?” she asked, her high voice was sweet and innocent. “Daddy OK?”

“Daddy’s OK, baby,” Tony smiled, touched by her concern. Then he looked at Tali, wondering how he was going to tell her this news. That he was getting married. That, at least in her perspective, they were adding someone into their little family. How was she going to handle another big change in her life? She was just a little kid and had already been through so much. Shit, he wasn’t even sure how he was going to handle having Gibbs officially added to their family and he was a fucking grown ass adult. But he couldn’t just get married and spring Gibbs on her. He had to at least speak to her about it. Soon. Now, even.

“Tali?”

Those huge green eyes looked at him inquiringly. How the hell this kid wasn’t his, he didn’t know. Those were his own eyes staring right back at him.

“Tali, you remember Dohd Gibbs?”

Tali nodded.

“Daddy is going to marry him.”

“Marry?” she cocked her head inquiringly.

“ _Ba’al?_ ” Tony gave her what he thought was the Hebrew for marry. “Dohd Gibbs will be Daddy’s husband. _Ishi_.”

“Dohd Gibbs marry Daddy? Like Prince Charming?” They had been reading fairy tales at bedtime.

“Maybe more like the Beast,” Tony nodded.

Tali clapped her hands and laughed. “OK! Then Daddy can be Belle!” She hummed the chorus for the Disney song. “Pretty Daddy!”

So Tony had also slowly been introducing her to a few animated classics. So sue him. No daughter of his would be completely ignorant of movies. And besides, some of these were classics, goddamnit. But, Tony couldn’t help smiling at Tali’s enthusiasm even though he wasn’t sure he wanted to be Beauty to Gibbs’ Beast.

“OK, then. That was easy,” he muttered to himself.

Not fifteen minutes later came a text from Abby.

_Bossman says to ask you to bring Tali to lunch today so you guys can go get your marriage license._

Tony sighed. Gibbs was taking his request to get this done quickly to heart. The man was not wasting any time.

_Bossman doesn’t know how to text or he would have texted you himself, he said. He gave me an extra caf-pow as payment._

Tony shook his head, unable to stop himself from grinning at Abby’s enthusiasm as he replied.

_Tell him we’ll be there @1300._

_Roger_. Abby’s response came instantly.

“OK Tali, you done eating?” Tony asked, taking his plate to the sink.

Tali used her fingers to stuff the last of her pancake into her mouth and nodded.

“OK. Bathtime, then we’re going to the park.”

“Yay! Park! I like to swing!”

“I know you do, baby,” Tony smiled as he wiped Tali’s sticky fingers and face. “Then we’ll have lunch with Dohd Gibbs.”

“Daddy’s _ishi!_ ”

“Well, soon enough, baby girl. Soon enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this story, Tali is one of those kids who have been exposed to several languages and like many young multilingual children, they tend to go with the vocabulary that springs to mind and don't stick to one language at all times and don't really understand the boundaries of a specific language. I grew up kind of like that myself, and my children, when they were at the age Tali is now, were also like that. However, Hebrew is not one of the languages I know so the Hebrew words I threw in I researched online. Hopefully I'm not too way off base.
> 
> Ba'al - wedding or husband (maybe both? depends on the context I think)  
> Ishi - husband
> 
> See y'all tomorrow!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, many thanks to [Red_Pink_Dots](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots) for the fabulous artwork! I'm getting close to being able to use some of the others you made. Wheee!

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

Tony had been tense all morning, unable to relax even while Tali was running around the playground equipment and demanding that he push her on the baby swings. Usually this was one of Tony’s favorite times, seeing Tali so carefree, despite all the things she had endured in her short life. But that day, Tony kept looking around, more paranoid than watchful, and he couldn’t relax or get comfortable. For one he had dressed up a little – dark jeans, suit jacket, crisp white shirt. No tie. He’d only been dressed up to meet with his lawyer or various governmental authorities, both Israeli and domestic, before this. But going to meet Gibbs at his old work place had made him automatically reach for his old armor. And even though he’d realized what he was doing, he couldn’t help himself. He didn’t want to show up to pick Gibbs up and have to encounter people who might look at him in jeans and a hoodie and think that he was somehow less than he used to be. So he’d made an effort with his clothes. But he hadn’t really cared to style his hair or do anything about the perpetual stubble that he now wore, it felt like he was trying too hard. So he’d stared at his reflection, chewing on his bottom lip, and decided it was fine. He wasn’t completely casual, but he hadn’t pulled out all the stops either. He was still a stay at home dad running around with his daughter, meeting Gibbs for lunch.

He carefully put the thought out of his head that Gibbs had told him he looked good last night. He’d been dressed in a white t-shirt and striped pajama pants, ready for bed, when Gibbs showed up. No way he looked good. But he wasn’t going to think about it. Nope.

Tony would have preferred to just meet Gibbs at the courthouse or just picked him up at the Navy Yard in his car and gone to a restaurant, but the man had asked him to come up to the bullpen. And he’d asked nicely. So he had agreed.

Going back to the Navy Yard turned out to be a really strange experience. This time Tony had to have his ID checked. The guys manning the Security checkpoint were a couple of the guys that he’d been friendly with. But even though they knew him by sight, they still had to check his civilian ID and Tali’s passport and sign them in to the visitor logs. He and Tali even had to go through the metal detector. Field agents were always exempt since they were always armed, but Tony was no longer a field agent, or even an employee of NCIS. So he had to walk in with the general public, even though he was still able to shoot the breeze with the Security personnel. Going through metal detectors with a toddler could be challenging. Luckily, after all the air travel that they had done, Tony was an old hat at maneuvering his daughter through this process. He’d left the stroller in the car anyway, so all he had was his backpack and Tali who either walked with him while he had her hand securely in his, or else he just carried her. The stroller was awesome, but Tali was getting bigger and becoming more curious about the world around her that she hated being strapped in and confined to the stroller. She preferred to be more independent. Far be it for Tony to squelch her burgeoning autonomy.

He ended up chatting for a few minutes with Security before he clipped the Visitor badges on his and Tali’s jackets and headed to the elevator. It felt really odd to be there again, waiting for the elevator like he’d done thousands of times over the years. For whatever reason, he’d really thought that he would never be back here after he’d quit. Vance had been exceedingly good to him back then, processing his exit as early retirement instead of a resignation, and he had been eligible for early retirement due to medical reasons. His reduced lung capacity from the whole pneumonic plague bioterrorism attack had come in handy. Vance was essentially a decent person. He’d done what he could to take care of Tony all those months ago, not really knowing that money was the least of Tony’s worries. But what had been good about retiring was that he had managed to keep his excellent health insurance. Plus there were other benefits to being a retired federal agent rather than an out of work one, so Tony was glad that Vance had been so thoughtful. One such benefit was that Tony was still able to carry a gun anywhere in the US without a permit. It was another good reason for Tony to return Stateside. He would be better able to keep Tali safe if he could still carry. And Vance had enabled that with the early retirement, something Tony hadn’t even thought of doing back then.

Which meant that he should probably go and say hello to Vance and show Tali off to him. In Vance’s office, which was where he had first met her when Orli had brought her to him. Tony couldn’t even believe how much his life had changed since the moment he met his daughter.

But first, he needed to go to the bullpen. His chest was tight and tense. For some reason, he was really nervous. Abby had kept him up to date of what was happening with the MCRT – apparently Gibbs had brought on board several people after he left. It was weird to think of Gibbs having a more than four person team. Hell, for the longest time it had only been him and Gibbs, before they had added Kate on so very long ago. But the team seemed to be doing well, case closure rates were good.

His old teammates kept in better touch with Tony than Tony did with them. Abby called him regularly. McGee texted him on occasion, especially if he had questions about paperwork. And also when he needed to gripe about Gibbs’ tyranny. Tony smiled to himself. He was proud of his probie. He’d come so far and totally deserved this promotion. And Bishop preferred to send him emails rather than calling or texting him, wanting to not encroach into his space.

The only person that he hadn’t heard from since he left was Gibbs. Tony tried not to think about what that meant, that Gibbs hadn’t bothered to keep in touch with him. But since he hadn’t initiated any contact with the man either, he tried not to let it bother him. He was used to burying his anger. Gibbs’ inability to communicate with him was nothing new, so he chose not to think about it anymore. He couldn’t be too upset at this point. Gibbs was going to marry him in order to allow him to go through the process of adopting Tali as smoothly as possible, so he wasn’t going to upset the apple cart at this point.

When they got to the squad room floor, the quiet ding announcing his arrival made him smile to himself. He didn’t expect that old sound to make him feel at home all of a sudden. Tony shifted Tali so she was more comfortably balanced on his hip before they walked off the elevator.

“DiNozzo!” someone called out from somewhere in the squad room. And before Tony could get too far, he and Tali were surrounded by agents and staff members, many of them shaking his free hand, giving him hugs and pats on his back, ruffling Tali’s hair and pinching her cheeks until she was frowning and trying to hide her face in annoyance. Her glare was a pure Ziva ‘I will kill you with a paper clip’ expression which made Tony chuckle to himself.

“Give the man some air, for fuck’s sakes,” Gibbs’ growl made everyone scatter.

Then Tony was faced with Gibbs who was smiling at him.

“Gibbs,” he greeted him warily. Why was Gibbs smiling at him? Gibbs never smiled at him. He must be smiling at Tali, Tony decided. Who wouldn’t smile at his beautiful little girl?

“DiNozzo, Tali,” The smile Gibbs gave him and Tali was actually a real smile. Not one of those secretive and coy half smiles, or that evil smile promising bad things to come, the one that came right before the devastating verbal cut or the Glock to the head. It was a genuine smile that made Gibbs look younger and happier. Tony stared at him, wondering who Gibbs had managed to kill in the morning to put him in such a good mood.

Gibbs leaned over and kissed Tali’s cheek in greeting, and in the same movement kissed Tony’s cheek as well. Right there. On the squad room floor. Where everybody could have seen it. Surrounded by the orange walls that had been Tony’s second home for a decade and a half, _Gibbs kissed him_. On his cheek, but still. Tony’s heart rate escalated and he felt almost light headed. He was losing it. What the hell? It had to have been his imagination, he decided. No way would Gibbs kiss Tony, and certainly not right at work. Tony should have eaten more at breakfast instead of sticking to coffee as he must now be hallucinating due to low blood sugar levels. But the pertinent point here – Gibbs had used profanity in front of Tali. That needed to stop.

“And, uh, watch the f bombs will you? I’m sure we don’t want Tali to be that foul mouthed kid whose dads keep getting asked to attend conferences with the principal when she goes to pre-school,” Tony muttered, before kicking himself for actually including Gibbs as a second father to his daughter. Because Tali was _his_ daughter. Not Gibbs’. She was Tony’s.

“You’re right. Won’t happen again,” Gibbs agreed. Practically an apology. Which of course, didn’t help Tony’s state of mind or racing heart one little bit. What the hell had gotten into Gibbs today?

Gibbs took Tony’s backpack from him and escorted him to the bullpen, one hand on the small of his back, even as he smiled at Tali, who had suddenly gone all shy, and was hiding her face in Tony’s neck, chubby fingers clutching his shirt, legs squeezing his torso tightly. She snuck little glances at Gibbs, giving him tiny smiles that she quickly hid away in Tony’s neck, as Gibbs and Tony walked together.

“Holy shit! Tony! Anthony DiNozzo!” McGee jumped up and ran to hug Tony. “Look at you! Abby said you were back and that you had news for us! But look at you? You look really good, Tony. Time off has been good for you. And you look like such a dad with your kid holding on to you like a koala!”

Tony couldn’t help it. He blushed. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he looked like a dad now, or that McGee said Abby had news about him. But his face flamed.

“Probie,” he grinned as McGee pounded his back enthusiastically. “Stop scaring my kid, OK?”

McGee gave him such a fond look at the nickname that it made Tony’s blush heighten. “It’s so good to see you,” McGee told him, pulling him into another tight hug.

“Good to see you too, Sappy McSapperson,” Tony told him, which made the younger man laugh.

Bishop waited her turn, throwing her arms around Tony after McGee stepped back. “Tonyyy,” she breathed, holding him tight. Before Tony knew it, he was carrying Tali in one arm and Bishop was clinging to him in a full body hug and he had lifted her off the ground, hugging her with his other arm.

“Hey Bish,” Tony squeezed her back.

“I missed you,” Bishop said quietly.

“Back atcha, ProBish,” Tony said, just as quietly back, kissing the top of her head.

When Tony put Bishop back on the floor and she stepped away, Gibbs’ expression was almost cheerful as he introduced Tony to two of the new team members, Torres and Quinn, and explained that Reeves was out that day. Tony shook their hands and smiled at them while Tali shyly peeked at everyone.

“You have a beautiful daughter,” Torres told him.

“Thank you,” Tony nodded. “Gibbs, you ready to go?”

“You’re not leaving before you say hi to me, are you Tony?” Abby pounced on Tony, holding tight to him.

“Hey Abs,” Tony’s smile softened and he leaned into the hug, kissing her temple and the top of her head with open affection.

“Hi Tali,” Abby smiled up at the curious green eyes peeking at her.

Tali gave her a tentative smile.

“It’s Auntie Abby.” Abby spoke to Tali on the phone sometimes.

Tali’s smile widened as she recognized Abby’s voice before she hid her face again.

“Tony, she’s the spitting image of you,” Abby told him.

Tony’s smile grew sad.

“Now, apparently there’s news?” McGee asked, eyes bright with curiosity. “Abby wouldn’t give us any hints!”

“And I’m about to burst because it’s _so_ exciting!!!” Abby squealed.

Tony sighed and glanced at Gibbs, who was nodding. Tony felt his face grow hot as he fidgeted, resettling Tali more comfortably on his hip, not meeting anyone’s eyes as he blushed some more.

“Get Ducky and Palmer up here so we only have to say it once,” Gibbs ordered, and Bishop snapped to it, picking up her phone.

While they waited, Gibbs put Tony’s backpack on his desk and courteously offered him his chair.

“I’m good,” Tony shook his head, rubbing Tali’s back soothingly as she kept hiding her face in his neck. “She’ll do better if I keep standing and rocking her a little. Give her a few minutes. Hopefully she’ll warm up to everyone in a bit.”

“Are you here to stay, Tony?” Bishop asked as she tried to play peek-a-boo with Tali, who peeked and shyly smiled at Bishop.

“Um...”

“Let’s wait for everyone, Bishop,” Gibbs interrupted.

“DiNozzo?” Vance came striding down the stairs, smiling at him.

“Director Vance,” Tony smiled back, and they shook hands, Vance clapping his back.

“Tali has grown so much!” Vance smiled at the little girl.

“She’s in the ‘stranger danger’ phase right now, sorry,” Tony said apologetically as Tali hid her face and tightened her grip on her father.

“Awww, sweetheart. I understand,” Vance told Tali, gently ruffling her curls. “We couldn’t get Kayla away from Jackie’s skirts for easily two years at this same age,” he told Tony. “It’s fine.”

Tony continued rubbing Tali’s back and swaying his body gently with Tali in his arms.

“What’s going on? Are you just visiting?” Vance asked.

“We have news,” Gibbs said shortly. “Waiting for Ducky and Palmer so we only have to say it once.”

“You have news?” Vance asked. “Both of you?”

Tony’s blush deepened when Gibbs grunted his answer, “Yup.”

Luckily, Ducky and Palmer showed up then, and Palmer hugged Tony and Tali took a break from hiding herself to pet Palmer’s cheek, remembering him from their house hunting outing.

When the greetings were over, Tony stood, red-faced, eyeing his shoes when Gibbs cleared his throat. Tony didn’t want to see anyone’s expression. He would have preferred not to be present for this announcement, but he could see why Gibbs wanted to do it this way. Everything should be as aboveboard and look as real as possible, to ensure that Tali’s adoption would go smoothly. That meant announcing things together, like real couples did. But he couldn’t stop himself from turning crimson at the thought. And he wished that Gibbs would have given him a heads up so he could have been more mentally prepared for this. Although maybe if Gibbs had told him this was happening, he might have found a way to skip it. So maybe this was the best way to accomplish this.

“DiNozzo is back in DC to stay,” Gibbs began.

“Are you looking to come back to NCIS?” Vance asked eagerly.

Tony shook his head, still keeping his head down. “No, sir. I’m still keeping out of the field. I’m done throwing myself in danger every day, now that I have Tali to think of.”

Vance sighed and nodded. “We have non-field agent positions,” he offered.

Tony looked up, face still red, surprised at Vance’s persistence. “Thank you, sir. Maybe later. Right now, I have a job starting this summer.”

“What will you be doing?” Vance sounded interested without being surprised.

“Teaching.”

“Teaching?”

Tony nodded.

“Where at?” McGee asked.

“Georgetown University,” Tony muttered.

“ _You’re_ teaching at Georgetown?” McGee gasped.

Tony nodded, clearing his throat.

“That’s awesome, Tony,” McGee sounded proud, but it definitely looked as if Tony was in for some questions at a later date. McGee had that look now, and there was no way Tony would escape without talking about things for long.

“But that’s not _the_ news!” Abby practically yelled, jumping in excitement. “Gibbs, tell everyone the news before I explode!! I can’t keep it in any longer, Bossman!”

Gibbs cleared his throat again and glanced at Tony, who was suddenly completely absorbed by the tops of his shoes while still being quietly attentive to Tali. “DiNozzo is back to stay in DC, and well… Simply put, after all these years, last night he finally agreed to marry me.”

For a moment there was absolute silence. Then Abby and Bishop both squeeed loud enough to alert the entire floor that something was happening. Tony knew that the squad room denizens were rubbernecking when Abby threw herself into Gibbs’ arms and Bishop was hugging Tony tightly again. Tony finally glanced around to see the overall reactions of the people he had been closest to for all these years.

Vance was openly laughing and hugging Gibbs, congratulating him loudly, along with Abby, Bishop was still hugging him tightly, her expression joyful. McGee looked completely shocked, standing with his mouth open, staring at them. Palmer looked confused and perhaps a little suspicious, but he seemed to be happy to set aside his reservations and shake Tony’s hand, congratulating him. Ducky looked extremely pleased with himself. Smug even. He caught Tony’s eye, gave him an approving nod and a cheeky wink before Tony was pulled into a gentle Ducky-styled hug. For the new people, Torres looked more confused than anything else, and Quinn seemed a little unhappy.

“It’s about time!” Vance told Tony when he pulled him into a tight hug, being careful of Tali who had become even more fearful with the uproar.

“ _What?_ ” Tony couldn’t help but ask after Vance said that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Good lord, DiNozzo. There had to be _some_ reason you remained so loyal to that bastard Gibbs all these years,” Vance snorted. “There was always speculation. Hmmm, I wonder if the pool is still going?”

“There’s a _pool?_ ” Tony asked, outraged. “About me and Gibbs?”

“Well, obviously there was a reason there was a pool,” Bishop joined Abby in jumping up and down and clapping her hands. “You guys are getting married!”

“Did you know about this pool?” Tony demanded of Gibbs.

Gibbs shook his head. “Pshh! I would’ve put money on us if I did.”

Tony growled angrily which made Gibbs laugh. And then right there, in front of everyone and right in the middle of the bullpen, Gibbs leaned in, placed his hand on Tony’s, the one that was supporting Tali’s back, and he brushed his lips on Tony’s cheek _again_. And again, Tony’s blush rivaled the orange walls in its brightness.

Tony stood and allowed himself to be hugged and squealed at to his friends’ hearts content. Torres shook his hand enthusiastically, even if he seemed surprised. Quinn didn’t even shake his hand or offer her congratulations but he didn’t know her so he didn’t really give a fuck. He could already tell that McGee was going to have even more uncomfortable questions for him later, and looking at him, so would Palmer. Fuck Palmer for being so damned happily married to Breena. It would have been so much better for Tony to have married him instead of Gibbs in order to adopt Tali. There were so many complications with getting involved with Gibbs, Tony didn’t even want to think about it.

“Alright, can we go get lunch now?” Tony asked irritably, finally stopping the merriment, frowning at the fact that others from the squad room were now invading their space in the bullpen. This tide of surprise and shock and reaction to the news of his engagement to Gibbs – good fucking lord, he was engaged to Gibbs! – was not going to abate any time soon, and he needed to get away from it. Tali was a tense ball in his arms, for one, and for another he needed to ensure that he and Gibbs had their stories straight. He hadn’t expected Gibbs to make the announcement quite so publicly, so now they had better be ready for the onslaught of questions and explanations. Not that anyone would be hounding Gibbs for any reason, they were still all too afraid of and intimidated by him. Tony though, was fair game. Had always been fair game. And now that he wasn’t even an NCIS employee anymore, he would be thrown to the wolves even more. He had to ready himself for the questions and the demands for reasons and justifications.

He sighed inwardly, glad that he could turn his phone off without Gibbs yelling at him. He didn’t work for Gibbs anymore, so he didn’t have to obey those damned rules of his as slavishly as he used to. Not that there weren’t some good rules. Tony still always carried at least one knife, and Tali would certainly start carrying one for her own protection as soon as he could teach her to be responsible about it. But he didn’t have to always be reachable anymore. If he wanted to avoid people and not take their calls, well, there really would be no real repercussions to that anymore and that was a good thing.

“Party pooper,” Abby punched his arm gently.

“Spoilsport,” Bishop told him fondly.

“I guess you’re taking Gibbs out to a celebratory lunch?” McGee asked.

Tony shrugged.

“Tony, you don’t seem too happy about your impending nuptials,” Palmer looked concerned. He grabbed Tony’s arm as if to pull him aside for a private talk.

And Tony immediately needed to backtrack. He was supposed to be happy about this, happy about marrying his long time whatever the fuck it was that he and Gibbs were supposed to be. And if he wanted a real chance at keeping Tali and raising her as his daughter, he had better get with the program, and act happy instead of acting as if he had just agreed to go into a loveless marriage with his bastard ex-Boss so he could adopt the daughter of his dead partner who, as it turned out, wasn’t biologically his daughter. And could his life get any weirder?

“No, I’m happy,” Tony protested, disturbed that he sounded as tentative and shy as he did, and he knew that his face was still bright red. Tony didn’t do shy but for some reason talking about his supposed romance with Gibbs was totally making him uncomfortable and awkward.

Jimmy leaned close and spoke right in his ear. “Are you being coerced into something?” he whispered fiercely.

“No, Jimmy,” Tony shook his head. “I’m happy. This is good. I want this. I just…” he petered away, finally gazing at Gibbs, green eyes beseeching him for help.

“Tony didn’t want a fuss,” Gibbs declared, actually being truthful this time. “He just wanted to go and get married at the courthouse and be done with it.”

“ _What?_ ” both Abby and Bishop screeched.

“This really isn’t that big a deal,” Tony muttered weakly.

Abby punched his free arm. Hard, this time. “Anthony DiNozzo! You can’t just go marry Gibbs at a courthouse without telling anyone! That’s not allowed. Especially since you guys have hidden your relationship from us for years!”

“Why not?” Tony pouted.

“It’s about time we celebrated the two of you being together, don’t you think?” McGee frowned, crossing his arms and giving Tony that annoyed pout of his.

“Unless there’s a reason you don’t want to celebrate this?” Jimmy still looked concerned.

“This is private,” Tony muttered, moving to hide himself behind Gibbs’ comforting bulk, the decision to seek his protection not a conscious one. “What’s between us, it’s always been private. This is… this is just weird,” he huffed.

“Well, fuck a duck,” Abby shook her head. “I would never have guessed that Tony would be the one dragging his feet in this relationship. Is that why you hightailed it out of DC last year? Did Gibbs propose then, wanting to be there for you and Tali, and then you had some huge emotional freak out about everything?”

“Language, Abs,” Tony snapped at Abby, jerking his head at Tali. The little girl was not taking the fuss too well, choosing to bury her face in Tony’s neck and practically climb into his body, and refusing to look at anyone. She was also probably reacting to Tony’s obvious tenseness. “I just got done telling Gibbs that Tali isn’t going to be the kid whose dads get called in to the principal’s office because she keeps swearing like a sailor.”

Gibbs laughed and nodded. “He did.”

“Sorry, Tony,” Abby was penitent.

“And I didn’t have a huge emotional freak out,” Tony insisted.

Gibbs looked at him, one eyebrow raised, but his expression was one of fond exasperation. Shit, the man was a good undercover agent, Tony thought. Even he was starting to buy what Gibbs was selling.

Tony sighed noisily. “Fine. Maybe I did. I just had to go and figure some things out. But I’m back now.”

Gibbs smiled and laid his hand on the back of Tony’s head, ruffling his hair gently. In just that one gesture, everyone who knew Gibbs knew that Gibbs was extremely happy that Tony was back.

“Right. Can we go now, please?” Tony turned to Gibbs, green eyes imploring him.

“You’re not going to go sneak off and get married right now, are you?” Bishop asked. “Like at lunch? Is that why you’re telling us now?”

“Nope,” Gibbs sidled up to Tony and slung an arm casually around his waist. “We’re having a little shindig. Abby is helping to coordinate things. It will be a small wedding,” he smiled and rolled his eyes at Tony, tacitly telling the group that the small wedding was a concession given that Tony had originally not wanted anything other than a quiet courthouse ceremony, not witnessed by any of their loved ones.

“Have you set a date?” Vance asked.

“A week from this Saturday,” Gibbs answered.

“Why the rush?”

“Maybe Tony’s knocked up?” McGee quipped, earning him a growl, a glare, and a discreet middle finger, completely out of Tali’s sight, from Tony.

“I’ve waited a long time for Tony,” Gibbs shrugged. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“Good for you, Boss, for putting a ring on it!” Bishop laughed.

“Oh my god,” Tony muttered, sighing loudly, still blushing profusely, wondering where the hell Gibbs was coming up with these answers because he couldn’t have scripted them better. In fact, he was the one who could do with better acting.

“Tali is going to be the flower girl,” Abby declared.

“Oh, she’s going to be perfect as the flower girl!” Palmer jumped in.

“Maybe Victoria can also be in the wedding?” Abby asked. “She’s only a little younger than Tali. Two flower girls? How cute would that be?”

“Oh! Really?” Palmer looked surprised.

“Why not?” Gibbs nodded.

Tony turned and banged his forehead repeatedly against Gibbs’ shoulder which made Tali giggle even though she was still hiding her face in Tony’s neck. “Small wedding,” he gritted out. “We agreed to keep it small.”

“So… no Victoria as a flower girl too?” Abby’s eyes were huge and sad.

Tony took a deep breath and straightened up, glaring at Gibbs. Damn the man. And damn Abby for those goddamned puppy dog eyes of hers. “Fine. Victoria and Tali can be flower girls,” he conceded. “Don’t go crazy with this, Abs. _Small_ effing wedding. Right?”

Abby put a hand to her heart and raised the other in a sloppy salute. “Right!”

“Wrong hand, Abs,” Gibbs grinned at her.

Immediately she switched hands and repeated the gesture, smiling mischievously. “Guest lists. Email them to me this afternoon so I can get the invites going. Judge Roberts has cleared his schedule for a week from this Saturday to officiate. I’ve already called around and scheduled a couple of cake tastings, caterer and florist interviews, so you guys are going to not argue about this and just come with me to these things. I know Tony you have your own tux. So are you guys doing tuxes? We’ll need to talk about what you’re wearing, and what Tali and Victoria are wearing. We might have to go shopping! Also, have you guys decided on your best men? And can we talk about the color scheme for the whole wedding?”

Tony’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to object, but Gibbs’ warm hand covered it, muffling his words.

“C’mon, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said. “Let’s go get some lunch. And Abby, you’ll get your guest lists, but stop messing around with DiNozzo or he’ll leave me at the altar.” He winked at Abby, grabbed Tony’s backpack and shouldered it, and started leading the still sputtering Tony away.

“Bye Bossman! Bye Tony! Bye Tali!” Abby was still very excited.

Tony raised his free hand and threw a casual wave to everyone behind him without even turning his head. He couldn’t even believe what had just happened and the fact that everyone now knew that Gibbs was marrying him. Gibbs had managed, in one fell swoop, to establish their back story and their planned future together, all without making Tony look bad and without drawing any suspicion upon them. It had been a brilliant move. And a stressful one. Tony felt shaky the way he did when an undercover op was at that point where it could go either way after a risky move. But he kept walking with Gibbs and carrying his daughter, focusing on the end goal – Tali – and not what was happening right then.

All eyes were on Gibbs and Tony as side by side they walked to the elevator. Gibbs was carrying Tony’s backpack, and Tony shifted Tali, balancing her on his hip so he could walk comfortably. And they watched as Gibbs reached over, gently grasped Tony’s free hand and interlaced their fingers as they walked. Tony turned and gave him a surprised look, and Gibbs’ lips quirked up in a playful grin. Tony rolled his eyes, but allowed Gibbs to keep holding his hand as they waited for the elevator. When they walked into it and the doors closed behind them, the commotion at the news just delivered to the bullpen was fairly substantial, but luckily for Tony’s sanity, he missed it all. However, Gibbs kept holding his hand as they rode down to the lobby, as they walked out the building together and all the way to Tony’s car, and Tony did nothing to change it.

Tony relinquished the driver’s seat in his SUV, allowing Gibbs to drive. They had decided to take Tony’s car since Tali’s car seat was already installed. As Tony slid into the passenger seat, his phone buzzed, signaling a text message. He glanced at the message, seeing that it was from Ducky.

_Well played, my dear boy. I’m glad you took my advice._

Tony rubbed his forehead, feeling like a heel. He was using Gibbs, and he was shamelessly doing it so he could keep his daughter with him, and raise her as his own. He didn’t love Gibbs, and Gibbs didn’t love him, but they were getting married. Even though Gibbs knew the score, guilt still burned at him, at the way he had forced Gibbs into this. Ruthlessly, he pushed that feeling away and texted a short reply back to Ducky.

_Thank you for the advice. I did what I had to do._

After a short pause, his phone buzzed again with another text from Ducky.

_You do what you have to do for family._

It was embarrassing how relieved Tony was to see those words. Ducky had parroted back one of Gibbs’ unspoken rules to him and helped make him feel better with no effort. He smiled and sent a smiley emoji back to Ducky. And in reply, he received several happy emojis.

He’d done what he had to do for Tali, and Gibbs was not just OK with it, he was doing the same for her as well. And that thought comforted him more than he expected it to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The [Law Enforcement Officers Security Act (LEOSA)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_Enforcement_Officers_Safety_Act) allows qualified retired federal agents to continue to carry a concealed firearm in the US.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks go to [Red_Pink_Dots](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots) for the gorgeous artwork! :D

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

Procuring the marriage license ended up being incredibly painless. Abby had called ahead and pulled some strings so Tony and Gibbs were able to bypass the long line of people awaiting their turn. Abby and the nuns knew people, and given that Gibbs had limited time in which to get this done, they had worked their magic.

Tony found himself sitting at the diner with Gibbs and Tali soon after, digging into cheeseburgers and fries, sharing his fries with Tali who made a face when Gibbs tried to offer her a fry that had been dipped in ketchup.

“No ketchup! _Frites avec moutard,_ ” Tali insisted, and a smiling Tony squeezed some Dijon onto her plate. Fries with mustard, she’d said.

“She’s been living in France for too long,” Gibbs rolled his eyes and winked at her, making her giggle. “Tali, you can’t pick up too many French habits.”

“French fry,” Tali held up a fry dipped in a tiny bit of mustard. “ _Oui?_ Dohd Gibbs?”

Gibbs laughed and nodded, conceding Tali’s point.

Tony turned his smile to Gibbs, raising an eyebrow as he sprinkled malt vinegar on his fries. “We did linger in Paris,” he agreed. “Three months.”

“How did your travels go?” Gibbs asked.

Tony sighed, biting his lip and shrugging, his dimples flashing in and out at Gibbs. “Rough,” he finally said. “I’ll have to take Tali back there when she’s older, and tell her more about Ziva then.”

“After Paris, you went to Israel?”

Tony nodded. “We went back to the house where... where Ziva died. I honestly have no idea how Tali survived that,” his voice was hoarse. “She asked about her mother. We went to her grave.” Gibbs put a hand on Tony’s.

“Then?”

Tony sighed. “We wandered,” he finally answered. “Went to see my mother’s family in England. Cousins, uncles, aunts for Tali. Lots of Paddingtons running around. Then I just rented a house in a random city in a random country in Europe, and we stayed for unpredictable intervals. Tried to stay as off the grid as much as possible, although I did keep my phone with me so I wouldn’t be completely out of touch with you all.”

“You were worried others might come after Tali?”

“Wouldn’t you be?” Tony was serious.

Gibbs nodded. “You’re still worried though,” he stated.

Tony raised an eyebrow and gave him a one-shoulder shrug.

“That’s part of why you’re back in DC.”

“I can protect her here, better than I can anywhere else,” Tony nodded.

“And you won’t have to do it alone here,” Gibbs’ words were a promise.

They sat and ate, changing the subject and both men turned to Tali and spoke with her, lightening the mood. Tali insisted on dessert, and pointed to the picture of pie on the diner menu. They ended up with a strawberry rhubarb pie a la mode.

“Thanks,” Tony told Gibbs as Tali attacked the ice cream with her spoon.

“For what?” Gibbs looked surprised.

“For the thing back at work,” Tony lapsed into calling the Navy Yard work even though he no longer worked there and hadn’t for the better part of a year. “Telling everyone. Making it seem as if we were together before this. Making it not as awkward as it could’ve been.”

Gibbs sighed. “I told you, I’ll do everything I can to help you keep Tali.”

“Yeah,” Tony nodded. “I know. Still. Thank you.”

“You deserve to keep your daughter, DiNozzo,” Gibbs told him firmly.

“I know. I’m sorry I almost blew it. I just wasn’t mentally prepared, and well, you took me by surprise.”

“I think you sold it more by being honest about not wanting a fuss,” Gibbs said quietly. “Everyone knows that I’m a ba…” he glanced at Tali and stopped himself from saying the word. “Everyone knows I’m hard to get along with. They probably think you’re a saint for ‘coming back to me’.”

Tony smirked at the statement and gave Gibbs an apologetic look of agreement.

“You want to get our stories straight?” Gibbs asked. “About our history together?”

Tony nodded. So while Tali ate her pie, they decided that they would have started their supposed non-platonic relationship right after Tony returned from Israel and Ziva had chosen not to come back with him. After lunch, Gibbs convinced him to walk with him through a couple of jewelers and they looked at some of their ring options. They didn’t make any decisions yet, but Tony was glad that they both seemed to have similar ideas about what they liked so it was actually kind of nice.

Then Tony dropped Gibbs off at work and headed home, already exhausted by his day, and knowing that Tali would still need to be kept busy for the rest of the day.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It ended up being one of those days. Tali had been bombarded with far too much stimuli, too many people hugging and touching her, and far too much excitement for a child who had spent most of her life sitting in a quiet farmhouse alone with her mother. She was woefully unprepared to cope with practically the whole squad room greeting them earlier, and then all the excitement of the impending nuptials by the extended team. By that evening Tali couldn’t cope with the overstimulation and she was screaming and crying, curled up in a ball on the living room floor.

Tony barely heard his phone chirping and after ten minutes of trying to calm his daughter with little success, he was close to just curling up into a ball and crying with her after the day that he’d had, not to mention the lack of sleep of the previous night. He swiped the phone to answer it without even looking at the caller ID.

“What?” he growled.

“DiNozzo? Bad time?” Gibbs’ voice.

“Let me call you back,” Tony told him. “Tali’s having a meltdown.” He hung up, threw the phone aside and went back down on the floor, speaking as calmly as he possibly could. Finally, after several minutes, Tali allowed him to pull her into his arms, and he sat on the floor rocking the sobbing child, speaking soothingly and finally he ended up singing softly to try and calm her.

When Tali was calmer, and finally able to listen to him, he held her close, still rocking her.

“Do you want to go into your tent?” he asked.

Tali nodded.

“Do you want Daddy to carry you into your tent?”

Tali nodded again, her green eyes swollen and her face red from her meltdown.

Tony stood and carried her into her bedroom, avoiding the bed and going straight to the little indoor tent that was in the corner by the window. He put her down by it and held the opening while Tali crawled in. He flipped the switch that turned the Christmas lights on on the inside of the tent. The floor of the tent was littered with soft pillows and Tony brought Tali her favorite stuffed bunny and her noise canceling headphones, and chose a Beethoven piano sonata for her to listen to as she calmed herself down.

“Will you be OK while I get you some juice?” he asked.

Tali nodded, hiccupping a little, her teary green eyes causing Tony’s heart to break just a little. He gave her a reassuring smile, leaned in to kiss her and went to get her a sippy cup of orange juice and a small snack.

When Tali was quietly ensconced in her safe place with her drink, goldfish crackers and music piping through her headphones, Tony went back to the living room and dropped onto the couch, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. He was exhausted and Tali’s meltdown had brought about a full on headache.

He was just sitting bonelessly on the couch, too tired to even find the clicker for the TV – so it was still playing pre-school cartoons – to even think about looking for aspirin when a quiet knock surprised him. Not sure who it could be, he quickly retrieved his gun from the gun safe and went to check the peep hole. Frowning, he undid the deadbolt and swung the door open, gun pointed downwards but still in his hand.

“Gibbs?”

“You expecting company?” Gibbs pointed to the gun held loosely in his hand.

Tony shook his head, sighed and scrubbed his face, opening the door wider and checking the hallway as Gibbs walked in, before he closed and locked the door again.

“Rough day,” he muttered. He put the gun back in the gun safe and locked it before he turned back to Gibbs.

“Everything OK? Tali calm down?”

Tony sighed and nodded. “Ziva had a very quiet life,” his voice was sad. “It was just the two of them. And for the most part, it’s only been just the two of us since we left DC. So today was a lot for her. A lot of people interacting with her whether she wanted it or not. Too much for her to handle.”

Gibbs’ expression was sympathetic.

“She gets these meltdowns, her shrink calls them, when she’s overstimulated.”

“She OK now?”

Tony nodded. “Finally got her calmer and she’s in her happy place now.” He gestured to her room and Gibbs peeked in and saw the Christmas lights in the little tent in the corner.

Gibbs smiled and came back to the living room. Without quite realizing how it happened, Tony found himself being herded back to the couch, Gibbs’ hand on the small of his back.

“How is she otherwise?” Gibbs asked.

“Incredibly well adjusted for a kid who was bombed out of her home, lost her mother, and thrust into a big world with one hell of an inexperienced father. But she has her challenges. Bad nightmares at first. It’s why I took her to a shrink.”

Gibbs sighed. “You’re doing so well with her,” he told the younger man.

“I’m trying,” Tony stuck his hand in his mouth and began chewing on his fingernails. “Ziva didn’t do her any favors keeping her so isolated. I understand that that’s how she thought she could keep Tali safe. But she needs a lot of help when there’s more than just a few people interacting with her.”

“That’s another reason why you’re back in DC,” Gibbs guessed.

“Her shrink wants me to send her to preschool. Just to get her socialized. It’s not good for her to be so dependent on just one person,” Tony nodded. Then he sighed and yawned, pressing his hands to his eyes again. “But just the thought of ensuring her safety at a school or a daycare where I’m not there… I mean I know I can’t watch her every minute of every day but…” He groaned, frustrated.

“Looks like you’ve had an overstimulated day too,” Gibbs’ tone was kind. “Don’t worry about that right now. We’ll figure something out.”

Tony gave him a small grin. “Guess I got used to just being with Tali, too.”

“You eat yet?”

Tony shook his head.

“Chinese OK?”

Tony nodded.

“Just stay here and relax. I’ll take care of things. Will Tali want to eat something later?”

Tony nodded. “She likes wonton soup and spring rolls.”

“On it.”

With a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder, Gibbs stood, handed him the clicker and went to the kitchenette to order food. Tony was half dozing, half watching a baseball game when Gibbs brought him a beer and handed him two aspirins.

“Thanks,” Tony told him gruffly, downing the pills and swallowing his beer gratefully.

Before the food arrived, Tali came out of her tent and crawled into Tony’s lap on the couch, curling up in his lap, needing his presence to comfort her. Tony rocked her gently, humming a quiet tune and rubbing her back and running his hands through her curls, until she was completely relaxed in his arms.

Gibbs brought the food in and set the containers out on the coffee table.

“You want to say hi to Dohd Gibbs?” Tony was asking Tali.

Tali turned to Gibbs and gave him a shy smile. “Hi.”

“Is it OK I’m here, Tali?” Gibbs asked her.

She nodded.

“Are you hungry? You want something to eat? Your daddy said you like wonton soup and spring rolls?”

She nodded again, but refused to stop clinging to Tony.

Gibbs ended up helping to feed Tali, and staying and talking quietly with her and Tony. Together, they bathed her and put her to bed, and as she was exhausted from her big day and her meltdown, she fell asleep quickly, not even asking for any stories.

Then Gibbs made Tony eat. They sat together in comfortable silence, eating Chinese food, drinking beer and watching a game on TV, as they had done a hundred times over the years. Only, instead of being in Gibbs’ house, this time it was in the living room of Tony’s suite.

After Tony was done eating, Gibbs cleared the plates and put the leftovers away, and again, Tony found himself being quietly herded to get himself ready for bed. He was too wiped out to wonder what was going on as he pulled on pajama pants and a t-shirt and absently brushed his teeth, but Gibbs waited until he was in bed, tucked him in, ruffled his hair and squeezed his shoulder.

“You don’t have to do this alone anymore, DiNozzo,” Gibbs told him softly. “We’ll talk more when you’re ready. Tali will be OK.”

Tony nodded tiredly.

“She’s sleeping now, I just checked. You should get some sleep too.”

Tony nodded again, trying to stifle a yawn but failing miserably.

“Everything’s gonna be OK.”

Tony sighed, eyelids heavy.

“’Night, DiNozzo.” A light brush of Gibbs’ lips on Tony’s cheek, another gentle squeeze of his shoulder, and Tony fell asleep even before Gibbs turned the lamp off and left the room.

In the morning, Tony awoke and found that Tali had climbed into bed with him sometime in the middle of the night. She was snuggled into his side, and he had one arm around her pulling her close. Tony sighed, rubbing her back gently as he yawned and stretched a little, but he stayed in the bed, not wanting to move from the cocoon of warmth with his daughter. His mind went back to the previous day. What a bizarre day. And now everyone at NCIS knew that Gibbs was marrying him – Gibbs was marrying him! How everything had snowballed into this, he had no idea. Sure, he’d been the one to strong arm Gibbs into marrying him in the first place, but in his mind he’d imagined a quiet courthouse ceremony, and then Gibbs just participating in his life sporadically, doing things with them for the adoption, but leaving him and Tali mostly to their own devices. He’d assumed that Gibbs wouldn’t want to expose himself to more interactions than needed. That Gibbs would come to care for Tali and be there for her, be a presence in her life, while leaving him alone to live his own life. But instead, Gibbs had inserted himself into Tony’s life, and he seemed to be doing it deliberately and publicly. It was disconcerting. Tony didn’t know what to think of it.

And then he thought about how Gibbs had come over last night, and been so supportive while Tali was in her clingy post-meltdown state, and Tony had been so exhausted that he’d just let Gibbs do it. Shit. Did Gibbs tuck him in last night? He remembered it but he’d been so tired that he hadn’t reacted to it when it was happening. And, was it his imagination, or did Gibbs kiss him on the cheek before he left? He tried to think back to the previous night.

Shit! Gibbs _had_ kissed him on the cheek before he left last night! And that time it hadn’t been for an audience. It wasn’t like when Gibbs had kissed him in the squad room, when they had to sell their relationship to their friends and colleagues (former colleagues, Tony corrected himself). Why had Gibbs kissed him good night then, when it was just the two of them?

Tony’s brain whirled with ideas – Gibbs was sick. Gibbs was a method actor. Gibbs was suffering from temporary insanity. He kept drawing a blank. He finally had to stop himself from worrying about it as his headache threatened to return and he really didn’t need it to escalate to a full blown migraine.

He sighed and smiled when Tali made a tiny little noise of contentment as she snuggled into him and threw a leg over his body.

Tali was what was important now. He might be Tali’s everything, but by now, Tali was also his everything, and he was going to do whatever he needed to in order to keep her safe.

He laid in bed with his daughter, relaxed and mind wandering when his phone chirped quietly. He clicked to ignore it without even checking to see who was calling, but it immediately chirped again. He looked at the screen and saw that it was his father. Sighing, he turned the ringer off and ignored the call. Instead he sent a text.

_Can’t talk now. Tali is sleeping in the bed with me. What’s up?_

A moment later he received the reply.

_I just received an emailed invitation to your wedding. Are you marrying Gibbs??? Call NOW._

Sighing, Tony kissed Tali’s head and carefully wriggled out of her arms, placing his pillow for her to snuggle with. He took his phone to the living room and started the coffeemaker as he called his father.

“Junior! What the hell?” his father sputtered.

“Good morning Dad.”

“Don’t just good morning me as if I wasn’t just blindsided. Is this some April Fool’s thing?”

“I just woke up, Dad. Start from the beginning.”

“I received an email from Abby this morning that had a picture of a wedding invitation. Yours. To _Gibbs?_ ”

“She works fast,” Tony yawned. “Look, Dad. If you could make it, that would be great.”

“This is not a joke?”

Tony sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Headache was definitely going to start again. “It’s not a joke, Dad. I should have called you…”

“It’s not a joke? You’re marrying Gibbs? Your former boss Gibbs? Bastard Marine Gibbs?”

“Ex-Marine,” Tony corrected him. “He’s officially retired. Although he’ll tell you there’s no such thing as an ex-Marine.”

“But why, son? Why Gibbs?”

“Uh, well…,” Tony hesitated. It was time to do it. Commit to the lie. Take all necessary steps to keep Tali safe, keep being Tali’s father. “We’ve had a thing for some time, Dad.”

“A thing?”

“Yeah. A thing. The kind of thing you tend to have that leads to me having stepmothers?”

“You’ve been _sleeping_ with Gibbs?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Junior!” Senior deflated.

“What?” Tony couldn’t help his defensive response.

“For how long?”

“Couple-three years. Thereabouts.”

“Fuck. Junior!”

Tony leaned against the counter. “I meant to call to tell you and tell you about the wedding in person,” he said apologetically. “But Abby obviously works fast.”

“So…”

“Yeah, if you could come to my wedding, Dad, that would be nice.”

“My only son is getting married and you say it would be ‘nice’ if I could come?” Senior was outraged.

“Well, I didn’t want to assume, Dad…” Tony said softly. “It’s not like you’ve made it to too many of my things.”

Senior sighed. “I deserved that, Junior,” he said quietly.

“It’s not a lot of notice, I know,” Tony said, automatically making excuses for him. “Don’t worry if you can’t make it. It’s just a small thing. I wanted to just go down to the courthouse and get it done this week but Gibbs insisted on having a little thing.”

“Your first wedding and you just wanted to go have it at the courthouse?” Senior exclaimed.

“My _only_ wedding, Dad. This is it for me. I’m not going into a marriage already thinking of my exit strategy.” Lies! Gibbs was the one who had vetoed the divorce.

“But with _Gibbs?_ ”

Tony sighed. “I don’t expect anyone to understand or even want to come…”

“Oh I’m coming to your wedding, Anthony. I need to see this for myself. Because this is Gibbs!”

“I know who I’m marrying, Dad. We’ve been together a long time. Neither of us have any illusions about the other, OK?”

“Do you love him, son?”

Tony blew out a breath. “Always have, Dad,” he finally said. And it didn’t feel like a lie. Not completely. He’d always held Gibbs in high regard, practically hero worshipped him for a time. Just because their friendship had been warped and broken by the end, didn’t mean that it hadn’t been good in the beginning.

“Junior…”

“It’s fine if you can’t make it, Dad. Look, I have to go check on Tali. She had a rough night.”

Senior sighed and relented. “You kiss that grandbaby of mine for me, Junior.”

“Yes, Dad.” Tony was about to hang up when he heard a last minute question.

“Are you moving back to DC?”

“Yup.”

“Moving in with Gibbs?”

“No,” Tony shook his head. “That’s his and Shannon’s house. I won’t raise Tali with his daughter’s ghost all around her.”

“So?”

“Buying a new house.”

“Gibbs is selling his house?”

“No, Dad. That’s Shannon and Kelly’s house.”

“So Gibbs is moving in with you, but keeping his house.”

“I guess.”

“You guess? Haven’t you talked about this?”

“Look, we only decided to get married two nights ago, OK? I’m still trying to figure things out.”

Senior sighed. “OK. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to…”

“It’s fine Dad. Look, I gotta go. Talk later, OK?” Tony ended the call and threw his phone on the counter, scrubbing his face with his hands. One thing all these years hanging around Gibbs had done was teach him how to just hang up on people if he was done talking to them. He grinned to himself. He was seriously going to have to watch himself. First the grunting. Now the hanging up on people. Next thing he knew, he’d be grunting _and_ hanging up on people at the same time. But first, he needed to see what Abby had accomplished overnight.

He found his iPad and checked his email. He found that Abby had indeed sent out emails with the wedding invitation attached, promising the physical invitation to arrive via snail mail within a few days, but given that the wedding was soon, she’d wanted to give everyone a heads up and a chance to RSVP via email. Tony sighed and took a breath, wondering how to react. In the end, he just sent her a short text message thanking her for getting the invitations out so quickly. Even though he really wished they could have just gotten married at the courthouse and gotten it over with, Abby was excited about this and he was going to try not to rain on her parade.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[](http://imgur.com/N5Pw67h)

Tony had just arrived at the playground when his phone rang. He saw that it was Gibbs and even though his first instinct was to let the call go to voicemail, he ended up answering as he settled Tali into a baby swing and began pushing her.

“Can we talk?” Gibbs didn’t beat around the bush.

“Sure.”

“You at the hotel?”

“Playground on 67th, near Georgetown?”

“Be there in ten.”

Gibbs hung up on him. Tony sighed and put it out of his mind, continuing to push Tali who laughed and giggled, lightening Tony’s heart. If Gibbs wanted to change his mind, Tony was prepared to do whatever it took to keep them on course. But he really didn’t feel like that was it. Gibbs had been present last night, and fully supportive. Gibbs probably wanted to convince him that they should move their wedding reception to the Addams House ballroom or something, he thought to himself.

Tony focused on the beautiful spring day and the magical sound of his daughter laughing when he pushed her high. She screamed, asking him to push her higher – she was definitely Ziva’s daughter in so many ways. Little daredevil. It was a little past one in the afternoon so he and Tali were the only ones at the playground.

Gibbs drove up in the Challenger, engine growling, and he slammed the door and walked over to them about ten minutes later.

“Dohd Gibbs!” Tali waved to him, smiling. “I like to swing!”

Gibbs’ answering smile was huge, and his eyes crinkled up. “Hey, Tali! I see you swinging!”

“Higher, Daddy!”

“Daredevil girl!” Tony told her, but obliged by pushing her higher, laughing along with her.

Gibbs came up and stood with Tony, waiting patiently until Tali had had enough of the swings. Tony pulled her out and she gave Gibbs a hug and a smacking kiss before she ran off to climb the playset. Tony and Gibbs settled down on bleachers, where they could see Tali clearly.

“What’s up?” Tony asked Gibbs without preamble.

“You’re all dressed up,” Gibbs nodded at him.

Tony looked down. He was wearing a suit and tie, one of his old favorites. Not too flashy, but still him. “Yeah. Had a departmental lunch thing at Georgetown. Thought I shouldn’t show up in jeans and a hoodie.”

Gibbs grinned at him. “You get a babysitter for Tali?”

“Took her with me.”

“They were OK with that?”

Tony shrugged. “It was fine. People have childcare issues sometimes.”

Gibbs sighed. “It’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Tali. You’re running yourself ragged, not letting Tali out of your sight at all times. You know that, right?”

Tony grunted.

“I understand that you haven’t found anyone you can trust to keep Tali safe. If you want, we could consider the NCIS on-site daycare center, right in the Navy Yard?”

Tony pursed his lips.

“It’s a secure location.”

“Dearing got to us,” Tony growled. The blast at the Navy Yard still factored in his nightmares. They were supposed to be safe there.

“We’ve upgraded our security and plugged our holes since.”

Tony grunted grimly.

Gibbs sighed. “You said so yourself, that her shrink wants her to socialize. And she can’t be completely dependent on just one person for everything.”

“I _know_ ,” Tony snapped.

“When you start teaching, you’re going to have to figure out a solution.”

Tony sighed, deflating. “I know…” he grimaced. “I just don’t even want to think about it yet.”

They watched as Tali monkeyed up the climbing wall, hopped onto the playset and then hopped nimbly down the slide.

“Kid’s pretty agile,” Gibbs muttered.

“She’s Ziva’s daughter. What did you expect?” Tony grinned.

Gibbs snorted and shook his head. “Why can’t Orli Elbaz just make this adoption happen?” Gibbs asked abruptly.

“She could, sure,” Tony nodded. “But there’s over fifteen years between now and when Tali turns eighteen. What Orli does without going through the process can be undone by the next director of Mossad. No telling if they would be sympathetic to Ziva or Eli.”

Gibbs grunted.

“I can’t take that chance. So I’m going through the whole process and not depending on Orli or Mossad’s whims.”

“I understand.” After a moment, he changed the subject again. “How often does she get those meltdowns?”

Tony shrugged. “Not that often anymore. I really try to stop things before it gets to that. Yesterday was just too much for her.”

“Next time, call me before it gets too bad. You don’t have to deal with everything alone anymore.”

“She’s my kid, Gibbs.”

“I know that. But we’re getting married for her. So at least let me help with some things.”

Tony bit his lip and frowned. Finally he nodded.

“If you want, I can schedule a tour of the NCIS daycare and come with you and Tali. They’ll let us review their security,” Gibbs suggested.

Tony sighed and nodded.

“Or we could look into hiring a nanny.”

“No nannies,” Tony snapped. “I was raised by nannies. My kid won’t be.”

“Not a full time nanny. Maybe just for this summer, if you’re not ready to do the NCIS daycare yet, you might consider having a part time nanny come to your house, just while you have classes. Gives you more time to figure out daycare or whatever in the fall.”

Tony growled unhappily.

“A buddy of mine does security work for the children of the Washington bigwigs. We can talk to him to see what the options might be. They’d be both nanny and security.”

Tony frowned.

“He hires ex-Marines, ex-Special Forces, ex-cops, all either retired or honorably discharged, and all with some kind of child care certification. He has a good reputation.”

“Let me think about it.”

“What did your father do that you don’t trust Tali with him anymore?”

Tony growled. “Let’s just say alcohol was involved,” he said grimly.

Gibbs nodded.

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, waving to Tali as she swung herself across the monkey bars with no help.

“That kid’s gonna be a damned gymnast,” Gibbs said.

“Or a ninja,” Tony grinned. “Signing her up for gymnastics in the fall. And maybe ballet. Ziva used to dance.”

Gibbs patted Tony’s hand, fingers brushing his knee lightly.

“Hey, Gibbs?”

Blue eyes were trained on his face, eyebrow raised in question.

“How present are you going to be for Tali?”

Gibbs watched him in silence for a moment. “However much you need me to be,” he answered. “Constrained by work, of course. You know how that can be.”

Tony leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together between his legs. “What does that mean, as much as I need you to be?”

“You’re her dad, DiNozzo. I want to be there for her, as much as you’ll let me. And not just during the adoption process.”

“Why?”

“Ziva was one of mine. You are, too. And I told you already, you don’t have to do this alone anymore. But I’ll follow your lead. Do whatever you’re comfortable with me doing.”

Tony pursed his lips and glanced at Gibbs, taking in the serious expression. Tali calling him distracted him for a moment and he turned back and watched as she zoomed down the slide. Tali loved slides. Finally he nodded.

“OK,” he said simply.

“Good.”

“But she’s not riding in your car.”

“The Challenger? Thought you salivated at the thought of my car.”

“Muscle cars and classic cars have terrible safety rating, especially when it comes to kids.”

“We survived growing up in them.”

Tony harrumphed noisily. “I’m not running around watching her like an eagle just to stick her in your car, where the safety statistics make me want to hurl. No matter how cool your car is.”

“That why you bought that monstrosity?” Gibbs inclined his head towards Tony’s SUV.

“Highest safety rating, especially for children.”

“Bet the bullet resistant windows and reinforced steel plated frame probably helped make you feel more secure, too.”

Tony glared at him.

“I don’t blame you,” Gibbs finally said. “I wouldn’t wish the pain of losing a child on anyone.”

Tony drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. He nodded.

“Gotta get back to work,” Gibbs muttered, checking his watch.

“Let me round her up. It’s time to take her back.”

Gibbs walked Tony and Tali to their car and waited for him to strap her in first. Then he leaned in, kissed Tali goodbye, and closed her door. Tony had his door open and stood by it.

“See you later,” he smiled at Gibbs.

And then something completely unexpected happened. Tony was just about to get in his car when Gibbs leaned close and kissed his cheek gently. Tony stared at him in shock. What the hell? No one was around to see this! Tali couldn’t see them either. What was up with the kissing?

“Bye,” Gibbs grinned at him, waved to Tali and strode towards his car.

Tony was still standing there, staring at where Gibbs’ car had been parked, a few minutes after Gibbs had disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A meltdown is different from a temper tantrum. A temper tantrum is what a child does when she wants something and doesn't get it. A meltdown occurs when a child is overwhelmed. She doesn't want anything or even know what she wants, but she has been overstimulated. Tony takes care of Tali the way several articles I read recommends you take care of an overstimulated child. Hopefully it's not completely crazy. Seemed to make sense to me when I read the articles. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, check out the lovely artwork! Thanks to [Red_Pink_Dots](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots) for the fantastic artwork! :D

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

The next few days were strange and somewhat social for Tony. Gibbs dropped by the hotel in the evenings when he could, and Tony and Tali met Gibbs at different places. Sometimes at the Navy Yard, sometimes out somewhere for lunch or coffee, and sometimes Gibbs took a few minutes of his day to hang out with them at the various playgrounds that they frequented. One midafternoon, Tony dropped by the Navy Yard, ostensibly to bring Gibbs printouts for the houses they were planning to view over the weekend, but he also came bearing coffee for Gibbs. The team lead gave him the usual blush-inducing peck on the cheek, thanked him for the coffee and placed the papers on his desk. Tali was getting quite used to being around Gibbs and just held her arms up to him, requesting to be picked up.

A smiling Gibbs swept Tali up into his arms, swinging her up high like she liked, before tickling the squealing little girl with a finger to the rib.

“Tali help Dohd Gibbs work?” Tali asked, her eyes huge and serious. “Daddy lets Tali help sometimes. Can Tali help Dohd Gibbs?”

“It’s just paperwork today, honey,” Gibbs told her, settling himself back in his chair with Tali in his lap.

“I can help,” Tali grabbed the mouse on the desk and Tony deftly took it away from her, shaking his head no firmly and ignoring her cry of protest.

“Now, Tali, c’mon, we have to let Dohd Gibbs get his work done.”

“I help!” Tali insisted.

“How do you usually help Daddy?” Gibbs asked calmly.

“Tali types stuff. Tali knows how.”

Gibbs looked up at Tony, grinning, and Tony shrugged. “I just open a blank word document and let her go to town sometimes,” he admitted.

“Tali helps Daddy type,” Tali agreed. “Can Tali help Dohd Gibbs? Please? Pleeeease?”

“You don’t have to,” Tony told Gibbs, preparing to take his daughter away.

“It’s fine,” Gibbs took his mouse back from Tony and opened a blank word document. “Didn’t you get yourself some coffee, DiNozzo?”

“Um, I was gonna get some on the way out with Tali. Easier to deal with one cup at a time with one kid running around.”

“Hey, Tony. Let me buy you a coffee,” McGee was suddenly at his side. “Boss? My program’s running, and I’m almost done with the reports.”

“Yeah, go. Take DiNozzo. Buy him a sandwich. He’s probably forgotten to eat lunch today,” Gibbs shook his head, pulling his keyboard closer so Tali could start typing. He started to pull out his wallet but McGee stopped him, claiming he hadn’t had a chance to buy Tony a drink since the former agent had gotten back in town.

Tony stared helplessly at Gibbs, biting his lips. He hadn’t left Tali with anyone since he’d left DC the previous year.

“Tali, is it OK if Uncle Probie and Daddy go for coffee?” Gibbs asked Tali, understanding Tony’s hesitance. “I’ll stay with you and you can help me work. Is that OK?”

“Tali stays with Dohd Gibbs?” Tali looked up at Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded. “You can go with Daddy if you want. Or you can stay here.”

“Tali helps Dohd Gibbs,” Tali said, nodding firmly. “Uncle Probie goes with Daddy. Ten minutes. OK?”

McGee started chuckling at the imperious way the not-quite three-year-old was speaking.

“Hey! I thought ten minutes is what I tell you when you ask me how long you have to wait for things?” Tony pouted.

“Silly Daddy. Ten minutes. OK?” Tali repeated. “Tali stays.”

“We’ll be OK, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said, his tone gentle. “And you’ll only be two minutes away. I can take her to you if she gets upset.”

Tony still looked doubtful, but McGee grabbed his arm and started leading him away.

“Bye Daddy!” Tali’s clear voice called, and she waved happily at her father before she turned back to the screen. Tony could hear her scolding Gibbs. “Type fast! Faster, Dohd Gibbs!”

“Can you imagine any of us getting away with telling Gibbs to type faster?” McGee muttered under his breath as they waited for the elevator.

Tony snorted in amusement, which made McGee start laughing. He yanked him into the elevator with hushed admonishments of “Don’t get me in trouble with the Boss, Tony!”

They hustled to the coffee shop, but instead of walking right back as Tony expected, McGee steered him to a table and told him to sit for a minute. Surprised, Tony sat, checking his watch.

“We’ll go back soon,” McGee assured him. “Plus you have a chocolate croissant for Tali. I’m sure she’ll forgive you if we go a little over ten minutes. Eat your sandwich.”

Reluctantly, Tony nodded. Gibbs was right. He had skipped his lunch. He’d packed PBJs for lunch for himself and Tali, but he’d underestimated Tali’s hunger and had ended up giving his sandwich to her when she asked for more after finishing her own sandwiches. And now his belly was grumbling about skipping lunch. He sipped his coffee and started eating while McGee nursed his own cup of joe.

“Spit it out, Probie,” Tony said, mouth full. “You’re dying to ask questions.”

McGee groaned. “I don’t want to come across all Abby…”

Tony grinned at him. “No one can,” he intoned.

McGee smiled at that. “Alright. Well. I’m just going to say it.”

“Go for it, McGee.”

“I just wanted to ask you if you know what you’re doing.”

“Hey, I know I’m still learning to be a dad…”

“Not _that_ ,” McGee interrupted. “You’re an awesome dad. Gibbs. I’m asking about Gibbs.”

Tony put his sandwich down and sighed inwardly although part of him wanted to shout with joy that McGee thought he was an awesome dad. But he’d been hoping to skip this conversation with McGee. Finally he looked up and nodded. “I know what I’m doing, Probie,” he said quietly.

“Are you _sure?_ He’s way older than you, and he’s got three divorces to his name, Tony. And you’ve worshipped him for so long. He was your boss!”

“He’s not that much older than me,” Tony made a face, picking apart his sandwich.

“Yes he is, Tony. Seriously. If Gibbs is somehow making you do this, we can stop it. We can help you handle him.”

Tony’s mouth fell open. “ _What?_ ” he hissed. “What are you talking about?”

“Look, I just know that you’ve always been his loyal St Bernard. He never even had to tell you to jump, and you never ever asked how high. You just always jumped as high as was humanly possible and then reached even higher. And all he did was keep asking more of you,” McGee whispered fiercely.

“What?” Tony’s stared at McGee. “Where is this coming from?”

“I have eyes, Tony,” McGee frowned at him.

“I’m not his St Bernard anymore,” Tony objected.

“He can’t make you do anything anymore, Tony.”

“I know that!” Tony threw up his arms. “He’s not making me do anything now!”

“Are you sure? Because I bet he’s been the one making you keep your relationship quiet all these years. Was he taking advantage of you? Was he being inappropriate and unprofessional? It doesn’t look good, him sleeping with you. He broke his own damned rules doing that.”

“What? No!” Tony stared at McGee in amazement.

“So explain it to me, how our crazy-ass alpha boss got you into his bed, made you keep quiet about it for years, and now he’s getting you to marry him? Huh?”

“That’s now how it was at all!” Tony objected.

“No? Then how was it?”

Tony scrubbed his face, muttering under his breath in Italian. “McGee, I appreciate your concern, I do. And I guess, in hindsight, when you say it like that, I can see why you might think that.”

“Palmer thinks it too.”

Tony groaned. He had to come up with something that would satisfy both McGee and Palmer. Otherwise he could kiss adopting Tali goodbye. “It’s not like that at all,” he sighed. “It was good for a while. Then I don’t know. That last year it got weird.”

“Was he ever abusive behind closed doors?” McGee was deadly serious.

“ _No!_ God, no! He just… he just pushed me away, McGee,” Tony finally said it out loud. It was the truth. After Daniel Budd went down especially, his friendship with Gibbs had been completely strained and Gibbs had pushed him away. Hard. It had seemed to him that Gibbs had purposely sought out other people, and made new friends – Taft and then Grace Confalone. He’d found new people to speak to and had no desire to speak to Tony. Ever. Tony had felt truly unwelcome in Gibbs’ house.

McGee stared at him silently, and Tony felt the blush rise in his cheeks.

“He pushed me away,” Tony repeated in a hoarse whisper. “I thought he didn’t want me anymore.”

“So that’s why you left,” McGee was gentle. “And that’s why you’re so skittish now? And why Gibbs is treating you like you’re breakable?”

“I’m not… he’s not…”

“Yes, Tony. You are. And he is,” McGee interrupted.

Tony licked his lips and drew in a sharp breath. One part of his brain was taking notes for his next novel. How his friends were filling in the blanks with all kinds of sordid details about his supposed relationship with Gibbs based on very few well placed lies was truly fascinating. There didn’t seem to be any doubt to anyone that he and Gibbs had been in a sexual relationship. But how, despite what anyone thought, the truth was that there was no relationship, other than a very messed up, platonic friendship. Well, maybe now with all the cheek kissing, it wasn’t as platonic as it used to be, but they were slowly rebuilding that friendship maybe. But yet, McGee had come up with some interesting and yet somewhat logical conclusions. Nothing but a partial truth would be enough to deter him.

The other part of his brain was just trying to cope with this line of questioning. McGee had definitely grown up and gotten way better at interrogating people.

“Are you sure you’re ready to commit to him, Tony?” McGee asked, impossibly gentle. “He obviously hurt you. A lot. Are you sure you want to marry him? Is that what’s best for you now? You can just, you know, date for a while and see where that takes you. You don’t have to marry him right away. You should see if he deserves you, Tony. You don’t have to marry him just because he asked you to. It’s OK to wait. You deserve time, to breathe, to think, to decide. Cause you know, you have to admit, this is kind of rushed.”

Tony bit his lips. How to answer this question without saying that he was the one forcing Gibbs to marry him?

“I want this,” he finally answered. “I see where you’re coming from. Or at least I think I do. But he’s not taking advantage of me now. I promise.”

McGee gave him a look. “Which means he did take advantage of you back then?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

McGee snorted.

“Look, Tim, sure, we had our issues. But we’re working on it now.”

“Even Gibbs?”

“Especially Gibbs. I have Tali to think of, and I didn’t come back and introduce Gibbs into her life without thinking long and hard about it,” Tony decided to go with the partial truth. “We spoke. We decided on what’s not acceptable behavior anymore.”

“So you’re not going to let him walk all over you?”

Tony shook his head. “I don’t want to be that kind of example to Tali,” he muttered, blushing furiously.

“Good,” McGee frowned. “You can’t raise a daughter in an abusive household.”

“Gibbs isn’t abusive.”

“He can be,” McGee stated baldly. “It’s one thing at work, but it shouldn’t ever happen at home, behind closed doors. If he can’t respect you, then he doesn’t deserve you Tony.”

Tony stared at his probie, mouth open again. This was McGee. And he was serious about this. All Tony could do was nod wordlessly.

“And this is really what you want?” McGee asked again. “Gibbs is who you want? Forever?”

“I want this. I do,” Tony tried to reassure his friend.

“You want to be with Gibbs forever?” McGee was disbelieving.

“I do!” Tony had to sell it.

There was a pause as McGee scrutinized him. “If he ever starts treating you like shit again, Tony, don’t stand for it,” McGee continued. “Leave him. Take Tali with you and leave him. You’re not alone. You have friends. We all love you and care about you. No one will question it if you left him. We’ll make sure he doesn’t get near you if you need to get away from him.”

“I’m not going into this marriage with an exit strategy!” Tony huffed. Didn’t he just tell his father this? “Gibbs isn’t like that! He’s been good to me since we reconnected.”

“He better continue to be good to you and Tali,” McGee grumbled.

“He will,” Tony told him.

“He better.”

After a moment of silence, Tony gave McGee a small smile. “Thanks though, Tim,” he said, and it surprised him how tentative he sounded. “I appreciate you looking out for me.”

McGee smacked his bicep. “Eat your sandwich or Gibbs will chew me out for not feeding you.”

Tony checked his watch. “We should be going back…”

“Bishop just texted me that Tali just showed Gibbs how to change the font in word. Tali is completely fine.” He showed Tony his phone. Bishop had sent McGee a picture of Tali, her face serious, one hand on Gibbs’ mouse and the other holding Gibbs’ hand over the keyboard. Gibbs was grinning at her, his expression a mixture of awe and amusement. It was how Tony felt most of the time when Tali did things.

Tony started eating again.

“So, I finally hacked into your personnel files, Tony.”

“What? Why?” Tony glared at him.

“Why did you never tell anyone you got your PhD?”

“Uhh,” Tony looked uncomfortable. “It was never pertinent to work?”

“Shit, Tony! You told us in explicit detail the women you screwed, the where, when and how of it, but you never thought to mention that you were working towards a PhD? And how would a PhD in Criminology and Criminal Psychology not be pertinent to our work?”

“You guys had already decided who and what I was,” Tony scowled back. “I didn’t feel like I needed to defend myself or make you think that I was trying to, I don’t know, be someone you didn’t think I was or something. I didn’t have anything to prove. I just wanted to educate myself in our field of expertise.”

McGee sighed noisily. “Were we all that shitty to you, Tony?” he finally asked. “You couldn’t even tell us you were busting your ass working more than full time and getting a doctorate at the same time?”

Tony shrugged. “It’s just how it is,” he waved it away. “Look. Nobody showed up when I graduated OSU. My dad didn’t give a shit. It’s just how it is. Nobody’s ever cared and that’s just how it’s always been. Why would it be different with my graduate work?”

“Did anyone at NCIS know about this?”

“Ducky never let me quit when I thought I couldn’t handle things.”

“So Ducky knew. Did Gibbs know?”

Tony shrugged. “I figured he probably knew but as long as it didn’t affect work he wasn’t going to kick up a fuss.”

McGee was starting to look distraught now. “I can’t believe I was such a shit to you,” he lamented.

“Eh, McDramaQueen. I was just as big a shit back to you,” Tony grinned. “I’m no wilting wallflower. It wasn’t anything.”

“I made fun of you! Said things that I knew were untrue about your intelligence, your lack of education.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I superglued you to shit for years, McGee. And made fun of just about everything about you. Let’s see – your inability to get a woman, your clothes, your vocabulary, your gaming tendencies, your naivete, to name a few.”

“But…”

“If I hadn’t lived in a frat house, I might have been hurt by your words, Probie. But seriously, the things my frat brothers pulled on each other, and the things we said. Way worse than anything you ever said or did. But we were tight, and we still are. Maybe I have a warped sense of how things are, but when I got to say awful things to you and you said it back to me, it reminded me of my frat brothers. Made me feel all brotherly towards you.”

“Yeah?”

Tony nodded.

“Shit. You are so messed up, Tony.”

Tony shrugged and grinned, taking his final bite. “I know, right? Come on. Let’s go back before my daughter shows Gibbs how to draw tables or insert WordArt into his documents.”

McGee chuckled. “I don’t think the world is ready for Gibbs’ WordArt.”

Tony nodded, eyes wide with mock solemnity. They walked back to the Navy Yard. As they were going up the elevator to the squad room, McGee gave Tony a look.

“I’m serious. One whiff of bad crap between you and Gibbs, and you leave him. Delilah and I have room for you and Tali. Always.”

Tony stared at McGee and nodded. “Thanks Probie,” he mumbled.

“Daddy!” Tali shrieked when she saw him, jumping out of Gibbs’ lap and throwing herself into his arms. Tony hugged and kissed her and settled her on his hip. “Daddy, I help Dohd Gibbs a lot!”

“Yes, she did,” Gibbs smiled at them. “You eat, DiNozzo?”

Tony nodded.

“Snack time?” Tali asked him.

“From Uncle Probie,” Tony handed her the paper bag. She peered in it and laughed.

“ _Pain au chocolat_ ,” she crowed. “Yay!”

“What do you say, Tali?” Tony reminded her.

“Thank you, Uncle Probie,” Tali dimpled at McGee.

“You’re welcome, Tali. You can call me Uncle Tim if you like?” McGee suggested.

Tali shook her head. “Uncle Probie,” she insisted, making Tony snicker.

“You can eat Uncle Probie’s _pain au chocolat_ in the car, baby,” he told Tali. “Time for us to go and let Dohd Gibbs and his team get back to work.”

Tali agreed, and after she hugged and kissed Gibbs, and a grinning Gibbs kissed Tony’s cheek, they departed.

The next night, father and daughter ate dinner with Palmer, Breena and Victoria. The two girls seemed to get along well, which would make their shared flower girl duties much easier. Palmer’s questions were just as uncomfortable and probing as McGee’s had been. Not so much about the education. Palmer didn’t seem surprised by that at all. But it seemed that Palmer, like McGee, was concerned that Gibbs was taking advantage of him and somehow forcing him into marriage. Even though Palmer had spoken to McGee, Tony found himself repeating the things he’d told McGee while Breena kept Victoria and Tali amused in their playroom.

At the end of it, Tony was touched. Essentially, both McGee and Palmer were trying to figure out Tony’s mental state with regard to marrying Gibbs. It was very sweet of them both, especially since there was no relationship to speak of. One day Tony would definitely need to work this plot into one of Antonia Delacroix’s books. However, instead of telling either of them the truth, the former NCIS agent carefully kept to the agreed upon story. Tony felt bad and would have liked to at least confide in Palmer, but unfortunately, he actually believed in Rule #4. They needed to keep this secret and as few people as possible should know. Especially since, in this case, he knew that when the time came, as part of the adoption process, McGee and Palmer and their closest friends and co-workers would be interviewed about his relationship with Gibbs. He didn’t want to put the responsibility of lying to the authorities for Tali’s sake on them. He and Gibbs and Ducky knew the truth and would be the only people that would be lying. Everyone else needed to believe that Tony actually wanted to marry Gibbs and be with him. So he convinced both of his friends that he was of sound mind and body, and was happy about this development in his life, although he wasn’t too enthusiastic about throwing himself into the wedding preparations.

As to the details of the wedding, Tony just agreed with whatever Abby and Gibbs wanted. He took Tali to all the appointments that Abby made but he basically went with whatever they preferred. He expressed no opinion on the caterer or the florist, although Tali did end up choosing her own bouquet. Tony quietly agreed with whatever Abby and Gibbs wanted with regard to the food and flowers. He really wasn’t in the mood to care about it. He was happy to let Abby take the lead, as long as nobody went overboard. For her part, Abby did try to get his input, but given his preference for just getting it over with at the courthouse, he was happy to abstain and agree with whatever Abby and Gibbs wanted.

But when Abby tried to talk him into wearing a tuxedo, Tony put his foot down, bluntly refusing to do it. They end up taking Tali to the park and while she ran around on the playground equipment, Abby and Tony sat on a park bench arguing about the tuxedo in hushed voices.

“C’mon, Tony, it’ll be so classy and perfect. You in an Armani tuxedo, I could probably even talk Gibbs into getting an Armani tux, so he can be just as pretty as you, Tony!” Abby pleaded.

“Nope. It’s a small ceremony and reception. I hardly think tuxes are necessary.”

“Tony!”

“Abs, if I’d had my way, none of this would be happening like this,” Tony told her fiercely. “Things would be quieter and simpler if we’d gone with my original plan at the courthouse, and then there would definitely be no tuxes.”

Abby pouted. “You can’t just go to the courthouse and elope.”

“Why not?” Tony snapped.

“Because it’s your _wedding!_ ”

Tony sighed. “Abs, we’d be just as married if we did it at the courthouse during Gibbs’ lunch hour.”

“But none of us would have been there to help you celebrate it! This is cause for celebration, Tony.”

“I don’t see why it’s a cause for celebration,” Tony sighed. “I said OK to the whole wedding in Gibbs’ back yard thing. But no tuxes.”

“But why?”

“It’s not appropriate.”

“Shit, Tony, don’t you want Tali to look at your wedding pictures and think that her daddies were handsome and happy on their wedding day?”

Tony growled in frustration. “What is the big deal, Abby?” he hissed. “It’s just me and Gibbs.”

“No it’s not _just_ you and Gibbs,” Abby growled under her breath. “It’s _you_ and _Gibbs_.”

“We’ve been partners for a shit ton of time, Abby. It’s no big deal what we’re doing now.”

“It’s so romantic, Tony,” Abby sighed dreamily.

“No it’s not. This is not a romance novel, Abby.”

“It’s the romance of the century, Tony.”

“What the _fuck_ are you talking about?” Tony kept his voice down, and his eyes on Tali, even though it was a weekday mid-morning and the playground was almost deserted. “What romance? There is no romance here, Abs!”

“You? And Gibbs? It’s the fucking romance of this century,” Abby insisted. “You worked together for so long, Tony. You were good together in the field. There’s no denying it. _You_ helped him build the team, all of these years, and _you_ trained everyone. You were always the power behind the throne. And you stayed with him, even when he was a dick and an asshole. Even when he forgot us all and ran away to Mexico, you stayed. All these years, you’ve loved him and stayed with him, even when he didn’t deserve you.”

“What?” Tony turned to stare at Abby.

“And last year, he was a fucking bastard and a half and he hurt you with how awful he was treating you,” Abby continued her tirade.

Tony gawked at her.

“Don’t give me that look. You know exactly what I’m talking about. After you went and took Daniel Budd and The Calling down, we could all see how badly Gibbs was treating you. He took everything negative he was feeling out on you last year, and we didn’t know how to stop it. And you just sat there and you didn’t fight him or do anything to stand up for yourself. You just _took_ it,” Abby sounded angry.

Tony couldn’t help the quick indrawn breath at Abby’s words.

“We all saw it. We all talked about it. And we tried to do something about it, but Gibbs was on a tear and you withdrew,” Abby was sad now. She took Tony’s hand in hers, clasping it tightly. “We didn’t know how to help you, and what with the whole thing with Ziva and Kort and then Tali showing up, to be honest, when you resigned, I thought it was the healthiest thing for you, Tony. To leave NCIS and get some perspective, and get out from under Gibbs’ thumb.”

“What?” Tony whispered.

“So yeah, I was happy that you were going to make a clean break of us, because we weren’t good for you anymore. But it’s good that you’re back again, on your own terms. Gibbs has obviously made a huge effort to win you back, make you want to move back to DC and that you accepted his proposal? It’s huge. It’s a huge, big, fat, and hairy fucking deal, Tony. And it’s so romantic. I don’t know what the Bossman said to make you come back and make you take him back, but it’s got to be one hell of a promise.”

Tony just stared at Abby in disbelief.

“So it’s not just you and Gibbs. It’s you _and_ Gibbs, together again. And don’t think I don’t see the effort Gibbs is making now, wooing you even though you’ve already said yes. He’s been so sweet to you and he’s trying so hard to earn your love again.”

Tony’s eyes were bugging out of his head, and all he could do was shake his head, going back to being amazed at the details that his friends were filling in for the story of his fake relationship with Gibbs. “You seem to have given this some thought, Abs,” he muttered.

Abby smiled at him. “I’m just so happy that Gibbs made it right with you, and that you’re back in DC because I did miss you so much, Tony.”

“Missed you too,” guilt colored Tony’s voice.

“Oh, honey, don’t feel bad,” Abby put an arm around him and squeezed. “You haven’t done anything wrong. We could all see that Gibbs was the one who mistreated you, and we don’t blame you for leaving him.”

Tony grunted.

“And you were busy learning to be a dad. And look at you and Tali. You’re awesome, Tony. Gibbs doesn’t deserve the two hundredth or whatever chance it is you’re giving him now, but I’m glad you’re being the bigger man.”

“Abby… Please,” Tony kept shaking his head. “It’s not like that.”

“Yes it is. Stop making excuses for him. And this time, I’m going to personally watch Gibbs and make sure that he doesn’t slip and go back to treating you the way he did last year, Tony,” Abby’s tone was firm. Determined.

“Abby, please…”

“No, Tony. I’m not going to let him chase you away again. Next time Gibbs fucks up and hurts you, _he’s_ the one who’s going to have to leave. Not you.”

“Aww man… Abs…”

“I just wish I could have been a better friend to you when you needed me last year,” Abby whispered. “I tried, but I could see that you’d had enough of everything.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Abs. It wasn’t your fault. I couldn’t stay anymore. I just, I just had to leave.”

They stayed with Abby’s arm around Tony for some time while Tali happily climbed up the play set and slid down the numerous slides under the watchful eye of her father.

“So yeah, it’s kind of a big deal, Tony,” Abby was calm again, going back to their original topic of conversation. “We all want you and Tali to be happy, and we want you back in our lives. This wedding isn’t so much just for you and Gibbs, you know. It’s for all of us. So we know who we are again, and remember that we’re family.”

“Fuck,” Tony swallowed hard and nodded, unable to meet Abby’s eyes in case he blurted the truth out to her, trying to quash the overpowering feeling of guilt that was rushing through him.

“I just thought you should know where I’m coming from.”

“Yeah, I hear you, Abs.”

“McGee and Bishop and Jimmy are with me on this. I think we all need this, Tony. We need to see you be happy again, and see Gibbs be our Gibbs again.”

Tony nodded, unable to stop his eyes from burning. After a long pause, Tony scrubbed his face and rubbed his eyes. “Still no on the tux though, Abs,” he finally said, his tone gentle.

“Why?”

“It’s just supposed to be a simple ceremony in the back yard.”

“You’re usually all about style and you could pretend to be James Bond! Sean Connery Bond! Shaken, not sh-tirred!” Her impression of Bond was atrocious.

Tony gave her a small smile. “I’m not that Tony anymore, Abs,” he said quietly, gesturing to his clothes – faded OSU sweatshirt, blue jeans, old and worn, fraying at the hem, holes in the knees, and comfortable, broken in boots. Even though the jeans and boots had been couture in their day, Tony was definitely not wearing the newest line. His hair was longer than he used to wear it at NCIS and kind of windblown and messy instead of impeccably coiffed, and he ran around with a perpetual stubble, too lazy to keep himself clean shaven at all times the way he did when he needed to look like a trustworthy cop.

Abby sighed and pouted.

“But I will wear a nice suit. How about that?” Tony offered.

Abby’s grin was wide. “I guess I’m just going to have to accept that then,” she conceded. “Can I help you choose it?”

Tony inclined his head. “Fine, Abs. You can help me choose it.”

Abby was much happier, even though Tony was wracked with guilt at deceiving his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gibbs' Rule #4: If you have a secret, the best thing is to keep it to yourself. The second-best is to tell one other person if you must. There is no third best.
> 
> Also - I am so very sleepy tonight. I ended up re-writing this chapter several times this evening and tonight, and I haven't had a chance to reply to your comments from the previous chapter! Please know that I've read each and every one of them and I appreciate them all, and I will reply to you tomorrow when I'm much more awake and lucid. Otherwise you'll get nonsensical replies. :)
> 
> I hope you like the conversations in this chapter. The one with McGee was the one that I kept re-writing. Originally I had separated it out and had two separate and detailed conversations between Tony and McGee and then Tony and Palmer, but it felt so repetitive. I ended up leaving only the McGee conversation in, in detail. I hope that worked. Let me know your thoughts. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fabulous artwork is by [Red_Pink_Dots](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots).
> 
> Red_Pink_Dots will be creating an art masterpost once we're done posting this story! Also check it out - today I'm posting chapter 7 of 9 *snicker* (yes, obviously I am a geek), so we're almost done! Two more chapters! :D

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

Tony was running late for the cake tasting. He parked his SUV, unbuckled Tali, and settled her on his hip, backpack on his shoulder as per usual. He saw one of the NCIS Chargers sitting in front of the bakery, illegally parked, and two figures sitting inside. It looked like McGee and Torres were waiting in the car.

Tony knocked on the window and smiled, watching McGee jump as he had snuck up on the car. McGee rolled down the window looking irritated.

“You know it’s probably a bad thing that I was able to surprise you, when here I am, walking around carrying a child?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

“What do you want, Tony?” McGee asked grumpily. Tony couldn’t help grinning at him.

“Probie, why are you and Torres sitting in the car?” Tony asked mildly.

“Uh, we’re headed out to interview a witness right after this,” McGee sounded guilty.

“Gibbs didn’t just send you on ahead?” Tony cocked his head to the side.

“He said this would just take a few minutes?” McGee shrugged.

Tony snorted and muttered under his breath. “C’mon,” he invited them both. “No point sitting in the car while there’s cake to be tasted. You can help us decide.”

Torres was shaking his head no, and McGee started to say no as well, but Tony cut them both off.

“Look, it’s not right for you guys sit in the car waiting for Gibbs like this,” Tony pursed his lips. “Come in with me, or I’m calling Abby and asking her to reschedule because I can’t make it.”

“What?” McGee looked afraid. “Why? You’re already here. Don’t get me in trouble with Abby!”

“Because this whole bleeping plan sucks and I am already annoyed that I have to go in there and friggin’ taste cakes for something that’s being completely blown out of proportion,” Tony made a face, “and you guys are just sitting out here forced to wait. Please don’t make me pitch a hissy and just come in and eat some effing cake with me.”

Torres and McGee exchanged looks before McGee nodded. “OK. But Gibbs…”

“No buts. Let ‘em eat cake,” Tony raised an eyebrow.

Tali giggled and clapped her hands. “Cake!” she echoed. “C’mon Uncle Probie! Cake!”

“Tali’s a big fan of cake, aren’t you baby?” Tony grinned as Tali nodded enthusiastically. “Let’s go, McSkinny, see if we can’t get some meat back on your skinny a-s-s bones. Cake’s just the thing.”

Torres snorted with amusement as he and McGee exited the car and followed Tony into the bakery. If Gibbs was surprised that McGee and Torres trailed in after Tony, he said nothing. Tony put the wriggling Tali down, and she ran to press her nose to the glass of the cake display case, yelling “Cake!” happily, before she allowed Gibbs to pick her up and give her a kiss. And Tony blushed when Gibbs took his hand and pulled him in for a kiss that landed more on the corner of his mouth than on his cheek.

“Right, so we’re tasting cakes?” Tony cleared his throat, trying to stop his face from flaming.

“Jesus, Tony, anyone would think you were a virgin with all the blushing,” McGee rolled his eyes. “And god knows all of us knows better.”

Tony viciously stepped on McGee’s foot in retaliation, and both men stopped and looked sheepish when Gibbs raised an eyebrow at them.

“Sorry, Boss,” McGee muttered. But he and Tony exchanged a quick look, half grinning at each other, and Tony knew that McGee was remembering their conversation from the previous day, about how being mean to each other made Tony feel like a brother to McGee.

Tony sniffed wordlessly, still blushing, before he looked around. “So let’s get tasting,” he told Abby, who looked about ready to spontaneously combust every time she saw Gibbs kiss him.

They sampled ten different cakes, and Tony fed messy little bites to Tali, who stayed in Gibbs’ arms throughout the tasting process. McGee and Torres tried to hang back and stay out of it but were forced to participate in the tasting when both Tony and Gibbs gave them the evil eye. As it turned out, they each preferred a different cake.

Abby’s southern roots were exposed when she ended up preferring the red velvet cake filled with cream cheese frosting and covered in a chocolate ganache. McGee’s vote was for the smores cake – graham cake, chocolate ganache and toasted marshmallow buttercream. Tony teased him for always being a boy scout and that his wedding to Delilah should be a camp out.

“You know all the guests will be dying to be part of the latrine digging crew,” Tony snorted in amusement.

“Door gifts would include a sprig of poison ivy,” Abby agreed, giggling along with Tony. “You’ve certainly faced your share of it!”

Gibbs cleared his throat pointedly, and everyone went back to tasting cakes.

Torres liked the floral notes in the cherry blossom cake, a pound cake with vanilla bean buttercream filling and a pink, cherry blossom infused frosting, even though Abby and Tony ribbed him about the pinkness of the cake.

“I went to view the cherry blossoms at the Washington Monument,” Torres tried to defend his admittedly pink and flowery choice. “They’re beautiful.”

Tony hid a smile behind his hand, trying not to make the new guy feel too bad.

“Besides, they have deep meaning,” Torres continued.

Tony couldn’t help but snicker then, and McGee elbowed him in the ribs to make him stop.

“Did you know that the cherry tree and cherry blossom symbolizes awakening, rebirth, mindfulness, sensuality, splendor, continuance, new beginnings, family ties, life's fragility, and spring? A blooming cherry tree is also considered a sign of good fortune and a symbol of new romance, love and affection,” Torres continued, bravely ignoring Tony and McGee, who had started snickering as well.

“Somebody memorized the cherry blossom brochure,” McGee chuckled, and Tony shushed him, trying to stop his own laughter.

“New romance, love and affection?” Abby’s smile softened and she sighed. “How romantic!”

Both Tony and Gibbs rolled their eyes at that.

“Can we continue? Time’s a-wastin’,” Gibbs grumbled, and they moved on.

Gibbs’ favorite was the lemon pound cake with lemon curd filling and lemon buttercream. But since Tali liked the dark chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse filling and chocolate hazelnut buttercream, Tony had to side with her, claiming that the Italian in them craved the chocolate and hazelnut combination. Which made it the only cake that had more than one vote, and it ended up being the cake they chose.

“I love how you’re only Italian when it’s convenient,” McGee nudged Tony.

“You’re lucky my kid is here or I’d demonstrate my facility with the Italian language, starting from the gutter up,” Tony retorted. “See how convenient you think that is.”

Abby giggled at the familiar banter, which made Tali giggle as well. The little girl was adorably smeared with several different frostings and cake, and Tony was trying to stop her from wiping her face on Gibbs’ jacket, handing out wet wipes from his backpack to Gibbs and passing it around for everyone to use.

Gibbs jerked his chin, and both Torres and McGee obediently headed for the door. Gibbs handed Tali back to Tony, tried to clean a frosting- and cake-free spot on her cheek, and kissed her goodbye.

“Heading out,” he told the green eyed man, sucking excess frosting from Tali’s face off his finger. “I’ll see you later.” And he dropped another soft kiss on Tony’s cheek before he left with a quick wave to Abby.

Abby rolled her eyes as Tony blushed again. “Just get used to the PDAs, Tony,” she grinned. “I don’t think he’s going to stop reminding us what you mean to him. And more importantly, he’s trying to remind you of that, too.”

Tony shrugged, concentrating on cleaning Tali’s face and hands with more wipes from his backpack, ignoring Abby as she finalized the cake order. He paid for the cake and sent Abby back to work with a variety of cupcakes to be shared with the team. Tali gave him the big sad puppy dog eyes until they also took back a small box of cupcakes for themselves. And then, instead of going straight back to their hotel, Tony detoured and he and Tali ended up wandering up and down Hains Point at the East Potomac Park and the Washington Monument grounds for a couple of hours, given that the cherry blossoms were in bloom, and it would be Tali’s first experience viewing them. She was captivated by them, and Tony couldn’t believe how content he was to walk with his joyful daughter and look at the flowering trees. It did feel like a new beginning, and for Tony, a rebirth of himself.

It was a good day.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

That Saturday morning found Tony, Tali and Gibbs walking through several more houses with Tony’s realtor. The former NCIS agent tripped over his tongue when he introduced Gibbs as his fiancé, as it was the first time he’d actually introduced Gibbs to anyone in that way. Most everyone they knew were people they knew in common and Tony didn’t have a need to introduce Gibbs to them. The realtor took the sudden appearance of a surprise fiancé all in stride, seamlessly including Gibbs’ opinions and criteria.

When they looked at the beautifully finished basement of the first house, Tony made a face and frowned.

“This isn’t gonna work. Where would you build your boat?” he asked Gibbs.

The older man shrugged, pursed his lips and was silent for a moment, causing Tony to realize what he’d said. As if Gibbs would actually move in with him and need a woodworking area to build a boat in his house? Maybe he’d overstepped. But then Gibbs gave him a sheepish grin.

“Garage?” he suggested. “Be easier to actually get the boats out that way.”

Tony couldn’t help but snort in amusement. “I _knew_ there was no way you were actually getting those boats out of your basement intact,” he rolled his eyes.

The realtor took into account the need for a woodshop and showed them properties with basements and garages that could be converted to a woodshop, and also properties with enough acreage to build one.

Tony fell into a good rhythm with Gibbs while they looked at houses together. It felt like old times. They were communicating with few words and mostly facial expressions and gestures, having silent preliminary discussions on the defensibility of the property, as well as other features that they liked or disliked. Gibbs spoke with the realtor about things like termite infestation, insulation, grouting, weatherproofing, and structural soundness – all things that Tony had vaguely researched expressly for the purpose of buying a house for himself and Tali, but had absolutely no interest in. He was glad that Gibbs was there, someone who knew what they were talking about, and Tony happily allowed him complete autonomy on those subjects. And Tali kept campaigning for a pool. One of the houses that they had viewed with Ducky and Palmer had had a beautiful heated outdoor pool and hot tub and she had decided then that a pool was going to be the most important feature of their new house.

Tony felt more confident about buying a house. It was amazing how much it helped to be able to consult with Gibbs about the security aspects, and then letting Gibbs worry about most of the normal house stuff. But by lunch time they were all tired of looking at houses so they made arrangements to continue looking at houses the next morning. Tony had brought a stack of printouts with him, and he scribbled tiny notes on them while they drove from house to house, not wanting to forget his first impressions of a property.

They stopped for lunch at a quiet French bistro and went over the printouts and discussed the housing options in detail. Tony made more notes on the pieces of paper. Occasionally, Gibbs even scrawled in his notes next to Tony’s. Tony felt both closer and further away from making a decision as to which house to put an offer on. But the feeling of owning a house was becoming more real, which was a good thing. They needed to move to a permanent home. Tali needed the stability.

After lunch, Gibbs talked Tony into going to a jeweler’s with him. They looked at quite a few rings before they came to an agreement. The ring they decided on was a simple platinum band, brushed and matte rather than bright and shiny, and what Tony liked was the band of tiny diamonds embedded in half of the underside of the ring, discreet, and hidden from view unless you were looking for it. And the fact that they both liked it made it an easy decision. Tony was amazed that they had decided on the ring quite quickly and painlessly. To Tony’s surprise, Gibbs asked for the rings to be inscribed – they would each have the other’s initials on the inside of the ring, as well as their wedding date. The affection in that gesture didn’t escape Tony, and he couldn’t help but think of the permanence of that gesture. They would be wearing rings inscribed with the other’s initials for the foreseeable future, perhaps even the rest of their lives. He wasn’t sure what he felt about it, so he firmly pushed those thoughts away.

Afterwards, they went for ice cream and then Tony and Tali spent the rest of the afternoon at Gibbs’ house. Tony had meant to only drop Gibbs off after the house hunting, lunch and ring shopping outing, but when the older man invited them in and Tali wanted to go, they ended up staying the rest of the day.

Tali was down for her afternoon nap and Gibbs had gone down to the basement to work on the boat, so Tony relaxed on the couch with a basketball game on TV, feet up on the coffee table, completely relaxed. He didn’t want to admit it but he’d missed being in Gibbs’ house. There was a time when he’d been there quite a bit, to de-stress after a hard case, or to get his head on straight after having it messed up by his father, or just to sit on the basement step and watch Gibbs work on the boat, something he’d found soothing for no apparent reason. At one time, Gibbs had welcomed him in his home and been a quiet, immutable presence in his life, a stabilizing influence regardless of whether he was on some classified undercover op about to go belly up, or if his personal life outside of work was floundering. Gibbs had always been there, gruff and hard, but reliable. It had been difficult when things went to pot and he’d stopped feeling like Gibbs was still there for him. After only a few days of being engaged to be married to the man, Gibbs’ house was starting to feel like a safe place for him again, and the fact that Tali was napping peacefully in the downstairs guest room within easy hearing distance for him, was helping him feel relaxed and drowsy as well.

“DiNozzo?” Gibbs voice startled him out of a doze.

Tony jerked up, looking around wildly. “Tali OK?” he asked.

“She’s still asleep. Sorry I startled you.”

Tony stretched and yawned, and reached for the lukewarm beer on the coffee table. “No worries,” he mumbled, sipping the beer and making a face. “Sorry I fell asleep.” He stood and peeked in at his sleeping daughter, before making a rest room pit stop. And by the time he made it back to the couch, Gibbs had taken his warm beer away and replaced it with an ice cold one.

Tony nodded his thanks, his lips quirking up in a small smile, as he took a big swig of his drink. He’d slept for no more than fifteen minutes really.

“DiNozzo, I have something for you,” Gibbs sounded hesitant.

Tony gave him a questioning look. “Am I going to like this?” he kidded.

“I’m hoping so,” Gibbs cleared his throat. “Sorry, but I’m more used to this sort of thing with women.”

“Hey, um, what are we talking about now?” Tony’s heart started pounding and anxiety flooded him. What the hell was going on?

Gibbs handed him a small velvet box. “It’s customary,” he said gruffly.

“Customary for what?”

“Engagements.”

Tony opened the box and his jaw dropped. He looked back up at Gibbs, green eyes wide with shock.

“Wh-what? Why?”

“We’re getting married, DiNozzo. It’s customary for me to give my fiancé an engagement ring.”

“But…”

“Shut up and put it on,” Gibbs told him.

“It’s too much!”

“S’yours,” Gibbs muttered. “Unless you’re saying no to marrying me.”

Tony stared at the ring and at Gibbs and back at the ring again, his mind whirling wildly. How had it gone from him strong arming Gibbs into marrying him for Tali’s sake into Gibbs giving him an engagement ring and kind of, sort of proposing? And what a ring it was! It looked like two interconnecting platinum bands, with the same brushed matte look that they’d liked, connected by three blue sapphires. It wasn’t the typical diamond solitaire engagement ring, but it felt true to Gibbs and it did look like something that Tony would have chosen for himself. And it would absolutely match the wedding rings that they had just chosen earlier. Tony kept staring at the ring and at Gibbs, truly speechless.

“Are you backing out of this?” Gibbs asked. “Marrying me?”

Tony took a deep breath and blinked, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Finally he shook his head. “I’m not backing out. Tali needs us to do this.”

Gibbs nodded. He reached over, pulled the ring out of the box and held it up. “Then you’ll wear my ring?”

Tony blew out a breath and nodded. “Yeah,” he breathed softly.

Gibbs gently took his left hand and slid the ring onto his ring finger. It fit perfectly. The older man grunted and nodded. “Looks good on you,” he said.

And it did. Gibbs had picked the perfect ring for him.

“I-I don’t have anything for you…” he stammered.

“You can be the girl, just this once,” Gibbs teased him, grinning. Was that relief in Gibbs’ voice? Tony couldn’t tell. He was too busy freaking out about the fact that Gibbs had given him an engagement ring, and that he actually liked it.

Tony stared at his hand, and he kept touching the ring with his thumb, and getting distracted by how even his middle finger and pinky felt weird when they kept brushing against the unfamiliar weight of the engagement ring. He was wearing an engagement ring! Gibbs was actually putting a ring on it, he thought, and even his thoughts were becoming slightly hysterical. The reality of this whole thing was finally crashing into him. Gibbs was marrying him. He’d asked the man to do it for Tali’s sake, and Gibbs was doing it, giving this to him so he would be able to keep his daughter. But he was also tying them together for the rest of their lives, given that Gibbs didn’t want a divorce. Holy crap, Gibbs didn’t want a divorce! They were going to be married forever. Forever. And even if it turned out that he or Gibbs might one day request a divorce for whatever reason, the fact that Gibbs was signing up to be Tali’s other father for the long duration of the adoption process meant that Gibbs was signing up to be Tali’s father for the rest of their lives. That had been one of Tony’s stipulations. Gibbs couldn’t just forget about Tali when it was all said and done.

So what the hell did that even mean for them? This whole marriage thing? He hadn’t really given it much thought other than marrying Gibbs would allow him to be a stronger candidate to adopt Tali. But from a practical every day standpoint, what did it mean? Gibbs wasn’t moving in with him, and certainly not moving into his bed, was he? As long as it appeared as if Gibbs had moved in with him, that was what mattered. That was what they had discussed. Fuck. Gibbs wasn’t expecting to move into his bed and start fucking him now, was he? They hadn’t discussed sex, not with each other, or with other people. Not that he would necessarily be opposed to sex with Gibbs. Hell, Gibbs was certainly attractive enough, and would hardly be the first man he’d fucked, but still, this was Gibbs. And they were getting married in a week. What the hell was he getting himself in to? You couldn’t have a one night stand or a casual sex/fuck buddy relationship with someone you were married to, could you? Shit, he should really stop thinking about sex with Gibbs. He should just assume Gibbs would need the company of others, other women, most probably redheads, instead of him. Wasn’t that what Gibbs had always wanted anyway? What happened to firstly, why would Gibbs ever want to fuck him, and there being no secondly because the first thing trumped everything else? But maybe he should say something about it. To Gibbs. Just to clarify things.

“Uh, Gibbs?”

Those piercing blue eyes now fixed on his face was disconcerting. One eyebrow raised. Gibbs-speak to prompt him to continue.

“Umm, so, I thought you should know that I’m not expecting you to be you know, faithful? To me, I mean?” Tony couldn’t believe how hesitant he sounded. “I mean. You’re doing me a huge favor. Obviously. And I would never expect you to, uh, deprive yourself, especially since you’re being so amazing about all this. And I know you don’t want a divorce. But I’m not going to make you be celibate for the rest of your life. You know? So if you saw other people – women, redheads, what have you – or had sex with them or whatever, it would be- would be OK, you know? Expected, even. Given our circumstances.”

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “I’ve never been unfaithful in any of my marriages, DiNozzo. Not gonna start now.”

“I know. But I mean, this isn’t going to be, like, a normal marriage.”

“Don’t matter to me.”

Tony sighed loudly. “Look, I don’t want this to be unreasonable. I-it would totally be OK with me if you weren’t faithful. I’m not holding you to that. As long as Tali is unaware and happy…”

“DiNozzo, I don’t give a shit, whether you think it’s OK for me to fuck around on you or not. But that’s not who I am. I’ve never cheated on my wives, I’m not gonna cheat on you either.”

“But…”

“It’s only sex, DiNozzo. I can live without it. Got a perfectly good right hand,” Gibbs winked at him.

“ _What?_ ” Tony sputtered.

Gibbs took a mouthful of beer and grinned nonchalantly. “I said, I’ve got a…”

“I heard you the first time,” Tony interrupted, feeling the need to cover his ears and scream ‘la la la’ to block out Gibbs’ words.

“But you bring up a good point. I don’t expect you to be faithful to me. You’ve always needed sex,” Gibbs stated, his tone matter of fact.

Tony blushed. Was he actually discussing his need for sex and whether he was going to cheat on his future husband, or that he was even allowed to cheat on him, with his future husband himself? What the hell was his life coming to?

“No, I’m not... I don’t _need_ sex!” he denied it.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow and looked at him in pity. “Uh huh,” he grunted. And how was it that he could even grunt facetiously? Tony wanted to growl and shake him.

“Anyway, I’m not going to… I can’t believe you think I would cheat… I mean…” Tony couldn’t even finish a thought, never mind a sentence.

“Said so yourself, this isn’t gonna be a normal marriage. I’m good with the no sex clause. You, on the other hand? You’ve always craved it.”

Tony fizzled out and just stared helplessly at Gibbs.

“You do what you need to do, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said kindly. “I won’t ask any questions, and I won’t hold you to the vows. Wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Tony’s only response was a soft exhale. He didn’t know if he nodded or acknowledged it in any way. He stared at Gibbs’ eyes, and then stared at his engagement ring, and thought, wow, the sapphires matched Gibbs’ eyes perfectly. And then Gibbs put a hand on the back of his head, gently ruffled his hair affectionately, and turned to watch the game. And the discussion was over. Just like that. Not that anything was settled. But they were apparently done talking.

What the hell? Had they even made any decisions? Had any of Tony’s confusion been cleared up? There was a buzzing in Tony’s ear – all he had now were even more questions. Gibbs had somehow wrongfooted him yet again. He stared at his ring, and then stared at Gibbs’ profile, then turned to the TV and back again.

Tony had absolutely no idea what had just happened.

 

[](http://imgur.com/zjkydxz)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, Red_Pink_Dots did such an amazing job! I love what she did with the rings! And she was so patient with me. I made her click on the pictures of so many rings it is not even funny. Thanks for bearing with me and coping with my ring madness and indecision! :D
> 
> For the record, the imagery and symbolism of the cherry trees and cherry blossoms was all Red_Pink_Dots' idea. I loved it and embraced it, and worked it into the story because of her. :D
> 
> I also made poor Red_Pink_Dots click on links for wedding cakes! A couple of fun links to real and actual wedding cakes:  
> * McGee's [Smores Cake](http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/340950/scrumptious-s%E2%80%99mores-cake)  
> * Torres' [Cherry Blossom Cake](http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/341517/cherry-blossom-cake)
> 
> And seriously, I love how the rings turned out! Thanks for all your help with these details, Red_Pink_Dots! :D
> 
> p.s. - yes, I actually spent hours and hours clicking on pictures (and recipes) and trying to decide on the best cake, the best wedding ring, and the best engagement ring. I don't usually do that, but since we were going to have artwork, it seemed best to firm up those images in my head :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fabulous artwork is by the fabulous [Red_Pink_Dots](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots)! :D
> 
> Also, I was asked to put a warning. This chapter contains quite a bit of Tony, Tali and Gibbs interacting. Hopefully it won't be too painful for those who aren't fond of kid fics, or ovary exploding/reproductive organ damaging for those who are.
> 
> Also there may be excessive _Beauty and the Beast_ references. I have no excuses. :-}

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

The next morning, when Tony went to pick Gibbs up to walk through more houses with the realtor, he dragged a huge box out of the trunk of his SUV. It was easily four feet tall, two and a half feet deep, and Tony had a little trouble manhandling it out of the SUV.

“The fuck?” Gibbs muttered under his breath, not loud enough for Tali to overhear him, as she was still in her car seat, smiling and waving to Gibbs.

“Car seat. For your car,” Tony grunted as he carried it, and waited impatiently for Gibbs to open his front door. He dropped it in the foyer, inside Gibbs’ door.

“For the Challenger?”

“Well, how else do you think you’re going to drive Tali around in an emergency?” Tony grumbled. “C’mon. We’re gonna be late.”

Gibbs followed as Tony strode back to the waiting SUV. The older man stopped to give Tali a hug and a kiss before he slid into the passenger seat. Tony backed out of the driveway and set off, following his GPS to where they were meeting the realtor.

“So… I get to drive Tali around? In my car?” Gibbs asked him again.

“If need be. Yup.”

“Didn’t you give me a whole long talk about how unsafe classic cars were for driving little kids around?”

“It’ll be a whole lot safer with that car seat installed.”

Gibbs stared at Tony’s profile for a long moment before he grunted and nodded. “Alright.”

Tony gave him a quick look. “I’m not saying I like it,” he said shortly. “And we will definitely minimize it. I’d be happier if she never has to do it. But it would be ridiculous not to be prepared for that eventuality. I’d rather there be a car seat that we don’t use than there not be one when we needed it.”

Gibbs grunted his agreement.

“Will you need help installing it?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“It can be tricky to install, especially in older cars.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Gibbs repeated. Tony gave him a quick hard stare before turning his eyes back on the road, nodding silently, assured that Gibbs was taking this seriously.

Then when Tony flicked his blinkers on and smoothly turned the steering wheel, the sapphires on his left hand winked in the sunshine and caught Gibbs’ eye.

“Ring looks good on you,” he muttered.

Tony gave him a sharp glance, feeling both self conscious and suspicious, but Gibbs seemed nothing but sincere.

“Th-thanks,” he finally responded.

Gibbs sipped his giant to-go coffee.

“Dohd Gibbs loves coffee!” Tali yelled, a propos of nothing, from the back seat.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Look. That kid isn’t even three yet and she already knows you run on coffee.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Gibbs smirked, sipping his coffee.

“Refill coffee!” Tali said. “No Grumpy Gibbs allowed.”

Tony choked, trying not to laugh.

“Did Daddy tell you that?” Gibbs asked Tali sweetly. “Did Daddy tell you Dohd Gibbs is grumpy without coffee?”

“Refill coffee or Grumpy Gibbs,” Tali told him. “Daddy said so.”

Gibbs gave Tony a dangerous look, while Tony snorted, unable to stop his laughter now. “What else did has Daddy said about Dohd Gibbs?”

“Dohd Gibbs will be Daddy’s _ish_. Because Daddy is Belle!” Tali continued.

“Tali, remember how we said that we’re not talking about this, right? No talking about this with _anyone_. Remember? Just between Tali and Daddy. Right?” Tony quickly cut her off. He gave Gibbs a guilty look and an uncomfortable chuckle. “I explained that we were getting married.”

“ _Ish?_ ”

“Husband,” Tony cleared his throat, self conscious at using the term in front of Gibbs. It was illogical, he knew. It wasn’t as if Gibbs didn’t know he was going to be Tony’s husband. But saying it out loud made him feel awkward and self conscious for reasons beyond his own comprehension.

Gibbs grunted. “Sure. Good that you had that talk with her. Shouldn’t spring me on her with no warning.”

Tony nodded.

“But not like Prince Charming,” Tali interjected.

Gibbs snorted. “What? _You’re_ my Prince Charming?” he raised an eyebrow at Tony. “Tali, did Daddy say that he was Dohd Gibbs’ Prince Charming?”

“Daddy’s _not_ Prince Charming,” Tali rolled her eyes.

“Is Dohd Gibbs Prince Charming then?” Gibbs arched an eyebrow, lips quirking up.

“No! Dohd Gibbs _not_ Prince Charming,” Tali declared. “Daddy says Dohd Gibbs is the Beast. So Daddy is Belle.” Tali’s voice was clear as a bell and she completely ignored Tony who was doing his best to shush her and cut her off.

Gibbs’ eyes widened and he glared at Tony.

“The Beast?” he asked, his tone deceptively mild.

“She’s in a _Beauty and the Beast_ phase, OK? It’s a Disney animated classic! Every kid should watch it!” Tony babbled, trying not to squirm in the driver’s seat.

“Daddy is Belle!” Tali yelled. “Pretty Daddy!”

Tony facepalmed at the next red light, refusing to meet Gibbs’ eyes and giving Tali fierce looks in the rear view mirror, which the little girl blithely ignored in favor of humming and mangling the words to, appropriately enough, _The Mob Song_. Tali kept singing ‘Let’s kill the Beast’ with way too much enthusiasm, Tony thought, as he waited for the explosion from the Beast himself.

After they drove along in awkward silence for a few minutes, Gibbs sipped more coffee and blew out a quiet breath. “Well, if I’m the Beast and you’re Belle, I’d better watch this supposed animated classic movie with you guys, huh?”

Tony stared at him until cars honking made him pay attention to the lights turning green, and he started driving the car again. No explosion. He kept stealing glances as he drove. Gibbs seemed calm, and Tali switched to singing and mangling the words to _Be Our Guest_. After another few minutes of silence, he huffed out a breath.

“Well, Tali prefers the animated version, but we can also go watch the live version in theatres now, if you prefer. Tali liked that well enough,” he offered tentatively.

So after they spent the morning walking through numerous houses, they had lunch together, and then caught the movie at a theater. After which, Gibbs went back to the Addams House with them, spending the afternoon hanging out with them, watching Tony and Tali take over the hotel pool. Tony was teaching her how to swim and the girl was taking well to it, giggling every time Tony called her his little dolphin.

Afterwards, Tali played in the shallow end and Gibbs rolled his pants legs up and sat with her, his feet in the water, while Tony got some laps in. It felt really good to swim hard and stretch his muscles. He hadn’t done it in so long. But now that Gibbs was there and could watch Tali for him, he felt good about taking a little bit of time to swim. Gibbs didn’t complain, and Tali told him that he should bring his swim things to the hotel for her next swimming lesson.

Later, they watched the animated version of _Beauty and the Beast_ on DVD together while they ate dinner.

All Gibbs said about the movie was at least Tony hadn’t told Tali that he was Gaston. And if Tony caught Gibbs absently humming Belle’s song off key while they tidied the little kitchen together, he decided not to say a word and to keep his mouth shut.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs was definitely not being a silent partner in this effort. He insisted on being present when Tony next met with Geri Friedman. He didn’t want to get the information second hand. He wanted to be there and be part of the strategizing in order to ensure Tony’s adoption of Tali went smoothly.

So there they were, waiting for Geri to call them in. Tali was happily playing in the play area again. Tony would usually hang out with Tali and play with her until Geri was ready for him, but that day, he was nervously sitting next to Gibbs, feet jiggling even though he was trying to stop it.

“You OK?” Gibbs asked him.

Tony shrugged.

“Want me to leave?”

He shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself and moving his hand up to his lips, about to chew on his nails. Gibbs captured his hand, stopping him from wreaking havoc on his nails, pulled it into his lap, and just held it, casually looking away from Tony and keeping an eye on Tali.

Tony started breathing again when he realized that he was holding his breath and was in need of oxygen.

“It’ll be OK, DiNozzo,” Gibbs murmured softly.

Tony nodded. His knee continued bouncing, but a lot less agitatedly after that.

All Gibbs did was squeeze Tony’s hand and hold it until Geri called them in. Tony saw that the woman had taken note that Tony pulled his hand out of Gibbs’ when he stood, but she said nothing as she ushered them into her office.

“Agent Gibbs! What are you doing here?” Geri smiled and shook his hand. “It has been a while!”

“I heard DiNozzo here needed a spouse,” Gibbs smiled back. “I’m it.”

Geri’s eyes widened and she gasped. “ _Really?_ ”

Tony pulled an invitation out from his backpack and handed it to her. “This Saturday afternoon, if you can make it,” he muttered. “Sorry for the short notice.”

Geri tore the envelop open and read the invitation before her smile widened and she gestured to the men to sit. “So I take it that Agent Gibbs, you know the deal?”

Gibbs nodded. “Being married will strengthen DiNozzo’s application to adopt Tali.”

“Yes. Exactly. Tony, have you done the other things we talked about?”

“We put an offer in for a house today,” Tony nodded. “And I start teaching at Georgetown this summer, and onward into the 2017-2018 school year.”

“Good!” Geri smiled. “That’s very efficient of you. You seem to have accomplished a lot in a short time.”

Tony pulled more papers out of his backpack, copies of the details of their offer for a house and his employment confirmation, and handed them to Geri. Quick as a flash, she grabbed his left hand and stared at the ring.

“Is this new?” she asked.

“He _is_ engaged,” Gibbs told Geri wryly.

“Uh, Gibbs gave me that,” Tony muttered, unable to stop himself from blushing.

“Wait, are you guys for real?” her eyes widened, and her smile softened as she looked at the ring again. “This is not just for Tali?”

Tony cleared his throat uncomfortably and opened his mouth to explain.

“’Least I know DiNozzo won’t take a nine iron to my head if and when I’m a bastard,” Gibbs cut in, and his grin was oozing in boyish charm.

“Only cause I’d use my Glock instead,” Tony couldn’t stop the retort. “Golf clubs are for pussies. Don’t think I won’t pistol whip you if you deserve it.” Tony ignored the fact that he thought Gibbs had boyish charm. He was Tony’s curmudgeonly ex-Marine ex-Boss. Right?

Geri laughed. “Oh my god! You guys are perfect!”

Tony waited a beat for Gibbs to tell Geri about their deal, but no explanations seemed to be forthcoming. He gave Gibbs a look, which Gibbs returned placidly. And then the moment was over. If he brought up the truth to Geri now, it would look really weird.

“So what else do we need to do?” Tony asked, frowning.

“I’ll start the paperwork, and let you know what else I might need from you. At this point in time, looks like you’ve done everything you can. There’s going to be a lot of waiting and such.”

Tony nodded.

“Let me know when you’re out of that hotel and moved into your new house.”

Tony nodded again. “We should be able to close in a couple of weeks, if our offer is accepted.”

“Very good. Gentlemen, I’ll see you on Saturday then?” Geri smiled at them.

“See you then,” Gibbs told her. As they left the office, Tony carried Tali, and Gibbs carried Tony’s backpack, keeping a hand on the small of Tony’s back as they walked together. Tony kept stealing glances at Gibbs, wanting to ask why they had lied to his lawyer, but Gibbs ignored him and distracted him by asking Tali if they should re-enact _Beauty and the Beast_ in the hotel that evening when Gibbs came by after work.

“Yes!” Tali agreed. “Daddy sings pretty.”

“So you want Daddy to play Belle?”

“Daddy is Belle!”

Gibbs chuckled. “Yes. Daddy is Belle. Pretty Daddy, right?”

“Yeah! Pretty Daddy. Dohd Gibbs be Beast?” Tali’s eyes were wide and innocent.

Gibbs nodded. “I can be Beast. What about you?”

“Tali be Chip!”

Tony didn’t know he could laugh so much when they did attempt to re-enact the movie after dinner with Gibbs that evening. Despite his inability to really hold a tune, Gibbs was able to somehow recall most of Beast’s lines, and Tony and Tali filled in the blanks. Tali was great at imitation and keeping a tune, but not so good at remembering the dialogue or lyrics, and her rendition of Chip and the other characters she’d undertaken – from Le Fou, to the townsfolk – made Tony cry with laughter. Every time Tali yelled “Let’s kill the Beast!” while brandishing an empty cardboard paper towel roll as her pitchfork made both men howl with laughter. They didn’t even get to the end, choosing instead to repeat their favorite scenes.

At bedtime, Tony and Gibbs had to pinky swear Tali into secrecy, to keep their _Beauty and the Beast_ shenanigans only between the three of them. It was the most fun Tony had had in a long time. Maybe even ever.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The days leading up to Saturday went by quickly. Abby and Bishop both helped Tony decide on a suit, even insisting that he let them go through his storage units for the perfect suit. The first time they saw Tony’s engagement ring, they both squeeed and oohed and aahed so much that Tali started looking at Tony’s hand.

“Fingers?” she asked Tony.

“Yes, baby. Fingers,” Tony wiggled his fingers.

“Tali has fingers,” she wiggled her fingers back at him.

“Daddy has a ring on his finger,” Abby pointed the ring out to Tali. “See? Do you think it’s pretty?”

“Pretty,” Tali agreed. “ _Oui_. Pretty, like Daddy.”

“Oh? You think Daddy is pretty?” Bishop asked.

“Pretty Daddy,” Tali nodded seriously.

“Alright, alright. That’s enough of that,” Tony interrupted, thankful that Tali hadn’t started on how Daddy was Belle again, as Abby, Bishop and Tali all began giggling. He would never hear the end of that little nugget if she had.

But together, Abby and Bishop chose the outfit Tony would be married in, finding it in storage, and Tony had it sent to be cleaned and pressed for the big day.

They also dragged Breena and Victoria along with them to choose flower girl dresses and Tony found himself surrounded by cooing women and adorable toddlers. He didn’t want to admit it but it was kind of fun, and he hoped that Tali might have found her first friend in Victoria.

Gibbs stopped by and spent time with Tali and him whenever he could. Some nights Gibbs didn’t show up until very late, in the middle of a hot case. If he was able, he would call Tali at bedtime to tell her good night, but cases were unpredictable and there were times when that wasn’t possible. In those cases, he would stop by briefly late at night, kiss a sleeping Tali, and have a beer with Tony. Sometimes he would discuss the case with Tony and listen intently to the younger man’s input. Other times they just sat and vegged in front of the TV. Some nights Gibbs would make it in time for dinner, and stay for Tali’s bedtime. These were Tali’s favorite nights and she enjoyed making Tony and Gibbs take turns reading stories to her.

Tony and Tali also started meeting Gibbs and sometimes with some portion of the MCRT during the day – for lunch if they had time, or a quick coffee on the run if they didn’t. It was all becoming pretty normal. And Gibbs continued the little touches – holding Tony’s hand, putting his hand on the small of Tony’s back as they walked together, kissing Tony hello and goodbye, whether they were in public or not. That one was the hardest thing for Tony to get used to, and he constantly blushed when Gibbs kissed him, no matter how hard he tried not to. Gibbs had been his hard ass Boss for too long for him to just accept casual kisses on his cheek as a matter of course. Especially when the kisses brushed dangerously close to his lips at times. But there wasn’t much that he could do about it, so he allowed it to continue.

Once when Tony and Tali were in the bullpen, just bringing coffee and donuts for the team, Gibbs grabbed his cup of coffee with a thankful grunt and kissed Tony’s cheek enthusiastically after his first sip, pulling away with a happy smile. Tony blushed crimson to the tips of his ears, which made Bishop melt and sigh, and McGee, Torres and Reeves snort and roll their eyes.

“Imagine if Gibbs kissed him on the lips in public,” McGee said in a faux whisper to Torres, making him chuckle. “We’d probably be able to power Rhode Island with the heat and energy that that blush would generate.”

“No lips!” Tali frowned at them.

“Why not?” McGee asked her, his quick look at Tony making him think without a doubt that, the new Senior Field Agent was wondering what depravities Tony and Gibbs might have exposed the poor child to.

“No lips. Not until the end!” Tali said. “For the magic!”

“What?”

“Belle only…” and Tony covered Tali’s mouth and hushed her, stopping her from spewing whatever incriminating Belle-related words to the entire MCRT.

“And that’s enough of that, baby,” he told her. “Just Dohd Gibbs, Daddy and Tali, remember?”

Tali nodded solemnly, remembering that it was a secret. “Pinky swear,” she agreed.

“Uhm, Tony…?” McGee was hesitant.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, McDirtyMinded,” Tony snapped at McGee, his blush darkening. “She’s just talking about a Disney movie, OK? She’s two, for god’s sakes!”

“Do Disney princesses blush as much as you do, Tony?” McGee teased, ignoring Tony’s answering growl.

Tony distributed the coffee and snacks and escaped with Tali before she could explain why it was Gibbs wasn’t supposed to kiss him on the lips until the end. In the car, when he asked her about it, her explanation was garbled but it was somewhere along the lines of Belle kissing Beast on the lips at the end of the movie, after he deserved to turn back into a human. And that Gibbs had to wait till the end to become human, like the real Beast, before he could kiss Tony on the lips. It made a weird sort of sense, but Tony was relieved they hadn’t had to explain the whole _Beauty and the Beast_ thing to everyone.

So despite the weirdness, Tony accepted that Gibbs would be kissing him in public, and in front of Tali, to establish their loving front. But why Gibbs needed to kiss Tony hello and goodbye when it was just the two of them, Tony didn’t know. He understood why it was necessary in public or in front of Tali – they needed to convince the world and Tali that they wanted to be married to be with each other. But even late at night when it was just the two of them, Gibbs never failed to lean in and kiss Tony hello when he arrived, and goodnight before he left.

It was probably easier to keep the charade going if they stayed in character, Tony told himself. Don’t read anything into it, he kept telling himself. Gibbs was playing a role and he’s doing an excellent job. Tali would safely be his daughter if this continued. He was definitely leaning towards Gibbs being a method actor. Or a perverse tormentor, knowing that all the cheek kissing and affection would throw Tony off and make him spend too much time trying to figure it out. But again, it seemed to be effective, so Tony didn’t mess with the status quo, and never spoke about it to Gibbs. And if he started angling his face for the expected kiss, even though he was blushing during the whole almost-ordeal, Gibbs didn’t call him on that either.

Their friends continued to be accepting of them. Ducky was quietly supportive, even though Tony and Ducky never explicitly discussed the fact that Tony had taken proactive steps to keep Tali per Ducky’s advice. Tony felt that he and Gibbs had probably been able to allay the fears of most of their friends – that Tony wasn’t crazy for agreeing to marry Gibbs. That Tony wasn’t being coerced into marrying Gibbs, something that Tony found ironic given that technically he was the one who had coerced Gibbs into marrying him, calling in all his markers, pulling the do this for Ziva and Tali card, and also every underhanded thing he could think of to get Gibbs to agree to marry him. The only person Tony hadn’t yet managed to convince was his own father. Luckily for Tony, Senior was out of town on ‘business’ and wouldn’t be back until the wedding itself, so he was spared an uncomfortable evening of Gibbs staring down Senior and Senior trying to figure out what was going on. He would cross that bridge when they came to it.

As such, the week passed very quickly and before they knew it, it was Saturday again and the day of the wedding. Abby had tried to arrange for a wedding rehearsal but Gibbs had been busy with a case, and Tony had outright refused to have one, despite Abby’s cajoling and coercing. And to keep Tali as calm as possible for the occasion, Tony decided that they would spend Saturday morning at the hotel, just the two of them, rather than coming to Gibbs’ house early and exposing Tali to the hustle and bustle and crowd too early. The afternoon and evening would be a test of Tali’s ability to stand crowds and Tony didn’t want a meltdown, if he could help it.

Saturday morning ended up being one of those mornings that Tony just wanted to rewind. Go back to bed and start it over, doing everything differently. Tali spilled her cereal, her milk, and Tony’s breakfast on herself. She also caused Tony to spill his own coffee all over himself. Luckily, all the spillage happened before they were dressed in their wedding finery. But still, Tony had to take the time to clean everything and everyone up, and ensure that he didn’t get third degree burns from his hot coffee. And then Tali decided she didn’t want a bath and Tony had to take the time to convince her it was necessary. She then proceeded to make the bath last as long as she possibly could, and afterwards she put her foot down and refused to wear the flower girl dress that they had bought for her. It took everything Tony had to convince her to allow him to put the dress on her. And then Tony had to dress himself, and he knew he should dress with more care for his own goddamn wedding, but he had no time left. They were running behind schedule. Then all Tali wanted to do was sit and play or watch a movie rather than go anywhere. Tony was gnashing his teeth in frustration at how his day was going so far.

And then, to top things off, Tony couldn’t find his keys or the kerchief he’d meant to wear in his breast pocket. Even though they were in a suite in a hotel and didn’t have that much room or stuff, neither the keys nor the handkerchief could be found. The handkerchief Tony gave up on pretty quickly, but he needed his keys to get himself and Tali to Gibbs’ house.

Tony wondered if it was time for him to hotwire his own car, which he could do given a little bit of time and if someone would watch Tali while he did it. If it were an older car, he would have had no trouble breaking in and hotwiring it, even with Tali on his hip, but his SUV was state of the art and disabling the alarms and other security safeguards – Tony hadn’t spared any expenses for the security measures for his car – would take him some time and require someone to mind Tali so he’d be able to concentrate. He could call uber or a cab, but he hated the unsafe and unsanitary car seats that had probably gone through a wreck and were no longer structurally sound that were provided. Besides, what if this was a ploy and the cab or uber that came for him and Tali would end up kidnapping them on his wedding day. He knew he had issues and was quite probably the most paranoid person in the world, but his wedding day was not the day to test his patience with possible kidnappers or unfamiliar, disease-carrying car seats. Just because Tony loved Tali and got along well with her did not mean that Tony was in any way a ‘kid friendly’ person now. Tali was different. Tali was his daughter. Other kids were still pestilence-carrying little snots, and god forgive the poor kid that came to escort Tali to the prom. That kid was not going to find a happy Tony DiNozzo waiting for him. Because Tony had been _that_ guy, the guy all parents should have warned their daughters and sons about. So he would definitely be able to spot himself in the little shits that ever came sniffing around his daughter.

But at any rate, Tony was close to pulling his hair out when he called Abby to tell her about the issues with his car. She talked him down and dispatched McGee to pick them up in Gibbs’ Challenger which had the Tony-approved car seat installed. Abby assured him that not only did Gibbs install it correctly, but the team lead had even taken it to the local fire department and had them give the installation a once over to ensure its safety.

Tony led Tali through the lobby of the Addams House, to where McGee sat waiting for him in Gibbs’ Challenger. Tony dumped his backpack in the back seat and strapped Tali in securely before he opened the driver’s side door, making McGee jump.

“Shotgun,” he ordered McGee.

“But Tony!” McGee tried to argue.

“Now, Probie,” Tony snapped, and McGee immediately got out and scrambled around the car, getting into the passenger seat and giving Tali a little awkward wave.

“Why the hell are you so grumpy on your wedding day?” McGee grumbled as Tony muttered under his breath about not letting Probies drive Gibbs’ death trap of a muscle car with his daughter in it, even if there was a Tony-approved car seat installed.

“I have had a very long morning, Probie,” Tony said grimly. “If we’re lucky, we’ll get through this wedding without Tali having a meltdown.”

“Or you…” McGee muttered.

Tony scowled at him, making him stammer and apologize. Tony made good time to Gibbs’ house even though he drove carefully. Apparently all the years of driving with Gibbs had honed his own driving skills, and he handled Gibbs’ powerful car with no issues.

McGee tried to make small talk but Tony’s short answers made him sigh and shake his head. He ended up talking to Tali who was happily smiling and babbling away, oblivious to Tony’s bad mood. When they arrived at Gibbs’ house, Tony had to park on the street some distance from the house as the driveway and the street was filled with parked cars. McGee grabbed Tony’s backpack while the former agent unstrapped his daughter and settled her on his hip. Tali remained cheerful and happy, fiddling with her flouncy pink dress.

“Looks like the only one heading for a meltdown is you, Tony,” McGee rolled his eyes as he exchanged a smile with Tali, who giggled at him. “Right, Tali?”

“Right, Uncle Probie!” she giggled, probably having absolutely no idea what she was agreeing with.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Tony strode towards Gibbs’ front door.

“Hey,” McGee stopped him. “C’mon. I know you didn’t want this to be a big deal, but maybe have it look less like you’re going to your funeral, huh? Cause you’re not looking at all like a blushing bride.”

“It’s cause I’m not a f-fff… effing bride, OK?” Tony growled.

“Are you having second thoughts?” McGee was serious now. “Cold feet? I mean, this is Gibbs. He’s no pussycat. And you’re already about ready to explode here. It’s not too late if you have doubts. I mean, I think it’s awesome that you and Gibbs are finally truly committing to each other, especially since you said he’s going to do right by you this time. But if you’re not sure, then you shouldn’t force it. You can always ask for more time. It’s not like you’d be saying no to Gibbs. Just you know, ask for more time. To resolve whatever doubts it is that you have. None of us would judge you.”

Well, shit. Maybe Tony hadn’t convinced McGee that he really was happy to marry Gibbs after all. He needed to get himself under control.

Tony stood and took several deep breaths to calm himself. He felt a quiet mask drop over him, as his heart rate slowed and blood stopped pounding in his ear. “You’re right, McGee, I need to relax,” he finally responded. “No cold feet. Just, it really was a long morning where Tali did just about everything she could to push every single button that I have. And then the whole keys fiasco.”

McGee looked contrite. “I should have come over earlier to help you. Or maybe sent Jimmy since he’s good with kids.”

Tony gave McGee a small smile. “No. I’m good. Tali’s good. We’re good. This is good.”

“Yeah?” McGee was scrutinizing his face.

Tony grinned wryly. “Maybe a little bit of cold feet,” he shrugged, thinking that it would be believable that he would be a little hesitant. “I haven’t had a good track record with relationships, McGee. The last time I was at this point, Wendy didn’t show up and it was… difficult.”

“Oh, Gibbs is here. He really, really wants this,” McGee said earnestly. “He’s not going to stand you up. He’s going to be there. For you. And for Tali. I can tell he’s really been looking forward to today.”

“Yeah?” Tony couldn’t help asking.

“God, yeah. He’s almost been cheerful at work,” McGee made a face.

“Gibbs? Cheerful? At work?”

“ _Yeah!_ And like, he didn’t even get to shoot anyone!”

Tony started laughing. “OK Probie. I’m OK. Let’s go do this now,” he grinned.

“Alright. Now, let’s get in there before Gibbs thinks you’re leaving him at the altar,” McGee clapped his shoulder and opened Gibbs’ front door. “Abby! We’re here!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter now! I'm super touched by all the comments and support, and very, very amused by the conspiracy theories that have been thrown around. When I was writing the story, I never thought that Tali's paternity issues would gather so much attention. LOL It's awesome.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, many, many thanks to [Red_Pink_Dots](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots) for the fabulous artwork!
> 
> Here's the final chapter! Sorry it's a bit late - I fell asleep and slept through most of the night, which is rare for me. :)

[](http://imgur.com/ZacXqc4)

_“Alright. Now, let’s get in there before Gibbs thinks you’re leaving him at the altar,” McGee clapped his shoulder and opened Gibbs’ front door. “Abby! We’re here!”_

Abby appeared out of nowhere and started to usher Tony upstairs to the guest bedroom. Tali was handed off to Jimmy and Breena who were in charge of the flower girls. Tali willingly went as she saw Victoria and wanted to play with her. Jimmy patted Tony reassuringly.

“I won’t take my eyes off her,” he promised the former agent.

Tony nodded tightly.

“And we’re surrounded by federal agents,” Jimmy continued. “We’re all looking out for her and for you today.”

Tony blew out a breath and nodded, before he allowed Abby to tug him up the stairs. Tali was in good hands. He could let go for a moment.

“Now sit and relax,” Abby told him, pushing him into an armchair. “Here,” she handed him a glass of red wine. “Don’t spill that on your suit.” She fussed around him, admiring the suit that they had chosen. It was light gray, and Tony wore a light blue shirt under it, open collar, no tie. “Fuck, Tony, couldn’t you have at least shaved for your wedding?” she clucked.

Tony fingered his stubble and shrugged. He’d pretty much lived with a perpetual stubble ever since quitting NCIS and the idea of going clean shaven annoyed him now. “Haven’t done that since I left NCIS, Abs,” he muttered.

“And where’s the handkerchief we chose?” Abby poked at his empty breast pocket.

“It’s wherever my keys are, Abs,” Tony sighed, sipping his wine. “I have no idea.”

“McGee said you had a trying morning?”

Tony snorted. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“I should’ve come over and helped you.”

“It’s fine, Abs. I wanted it to be just me and Tali, just so she doesn’t freak out and have a meltdown this afternoon with all the people here. It’s fine. We’re here now,” Tony yawned and stretched. “Anything I can help with?”

“It’s all under control. Just sit here and look pretty, OK? I’m going to go see about something for your breast pocket.” Abby hurried off, closing the door behind her.

Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes. Apparently everyone did think that he was the bride. He was sitting around drinking wine and being managed on his wedding day. Well, at least he got to skip the obligatory mani-pedi with his bridesmaids. While he would have normally worked himself up into a tizzy about being thought of as the bride, he was kind of exhausted already and didn’t have the energy to get upset. Besides, the fact that he was marrying Gibbs was probably a huge factor. Since he was marrying one of the biggest alpha male bastards ever, it was no wonder he was being assigned the role of the bride. He decided to try not to take it personally.

Besides, Abby had gotten him a glass of really good wine. She knew what he liked. So he forced himself to relax and loosen up. It was his wedding day. Gibbs was going to help him keep Tali. This was exactly what he needed. This was what he had asked Gibbs to do for him.

The door opened and Tony looked up, expecting to see Abby, but he saw Senior instead.

“Dad?”

“Junior,” his father stalked over, scrutinizing his face. “You’re really going through with this, huh?”

“Hey now,” Tony started to look annoyed. “This is supposed to be a happy day, Dad. I’ve never made a fuss at any of the weddings that you bothered to invite me to, have I? Whether I liked the soon to be ex-stepmother or not?”

Senior sighed. “It’s just…”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Dad,” Tony gentled his tone. “This was a long time coming.”

“You’ve really had this secret relationship with him for years?”

“Yeah, Dad. I have.”

“Really? I mean, I didn’t even know you swung that way.”

“I don’t tell you a lot of things, Dad.”

Senior’s face fell.

“But I am a grown man now. I know my own mind. And this is something that I want. That both Gibbs and I want.”

“And what about Tali?” Senior asked.

“Tali adores Gibbs,” Tony replied. “And he’s good to her.”

Senior stood, frowning at his son. He finally nodded and smiled. “I wish your mother were here for this,” he finally said.

Tony bit his lip.

“She would have been so happy. I don’t know that she would approve of Gibbs, since he’s got three divorces under his belt.”

Tony grinned at that. “Pot, kettle, Dad? Pretty sure you have him beat numbers-wise.”

Senior made an impatient noise in his throat. “But it’s _your_ first wedding. And you’re my son. I’m entitled to worry about you.”

“I’m OK, Dad.”

“You’re happy? About this?”

“I’m happy,” Tony nodded. Tony was happy. Happy to be a father to Tali. Definitely happy to keep being a father to Tali. Happy to do whatever it took to adopt Tali.

Senior stared at him before he sighed. “Your mother would have been happy that you’re happy.”

Ouch. Tony felt that one in his gut. Because if his mother had been alive, he would have been deceiving her, too. But she would have understood, because she would have fallen in love with Tali and wanted him to do whatever he needed to do to keep her as well.

So Tony nodded, trying not to get too melancholy, thinking about his mother on his wedding day.

“Anyway, I’m going to go say hi to Tali and hang with the other guests. You need anything, Junior?”

Tony shook his head. “I’m good, Dad.”

Senior stared at him for a long moment before he nodded and quietly left the room. Tony sighed and sipped his wine and turned the armchair to look out the window at the cars in the driveway. He was trying to recall some of his better memories of his mother, and imagine her reaction to what he’d turned out to be. Hopefully he wouldn’t have been a complete disappointment to her.

Abby bustled back in a couple of minutes later. “Tony?” she caught his attention.

“Hmm?” Tony turned to her.

“Why do you look so sad?” Abby’s eyes were huge.

Tony waved away her concern. “Senior was just in here talking about my mom,” he said quietly.

“Oh, Tony,” she sat in his lap and hugged him. “I wish she could’ve been here.”

“Me too, Abs.” And guilt pooled in his belly. He did wish his mother to be there, but he also sort of didn’t, given that he wasn’t sure whether he was a disappointment to her or not. But that was a thought for another day, and he pushed it firmly out of his mind.

Abby quietly hugged him for a little before she squared her shoulders and sat up. “Here. I got this from Gibbs,” she waved a handkerchief in front of Tony’s face. She deftly folded it and slipped it into Tony’s breast pocket and fussed with it until she was happy. It was dark blue with stripes on the edge that were only slightly darker than Tony’s shirt. “It’s actually new, so it can be your something new, something borrowed and something blue, all in one. And since your suit isn’t new, it can be your something old.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Abby, you know I’m not a bride, right?”

Abby grinned and patted his cheek. “You keep thinking that, Tony-boy,” she dimpled at him. “It’s almost showtime. I’ll come get you in a bit.”

Tony shook his head when Abby hustled out again. Fuck. Who was he kidding? He _so_ was the bride. He resisted facepalming himself.

A quiet knock and Ducky slipped into the room. “Anthony, my boy,” his blue eyes lit up as he smiled and walked over, sitting on the bed. “Here you are, getting married.”

“Yep,” Tony nodded, smiling. “I’m following the advice of a good friend.”

“You are, indeed,” Ducky’s eyes twinkled.

“Thanks for the advice, Ducky.”

“We do what we have to for family,” Ducky murmured. “You _are_ committed to this course of action, dear boy?”

“I am, Ducky.”

Ducky scrutinized his face for a moment before he nodded and smiled. “Very good then.” He pulled a coin out of his pocket and handed it to the younger man. “An old sixpence,” he said.

Tony gave him a puzzled look.

“Put it in your shoe for luck. ‘Something olde, something new, something borrowed, something blue, a sixpence in your shoe’,” Ducky recited. “You Americans tend to omit the final part, which I suppose, is logical given the lack of sixpence coins in your currency. But it’s an old tradition from my neck of the woods. Abigail assured me that she has taken care of everything but the sixpence. So please. Indulge an old friend?”

Tony threw up his hands. “I’m not the bride!” he complained.

Ducky smiled. “Of the two of you, you are arguably the prettier one.”

“Have you been talking to Tali?” Tony rolled his eyes. “Thanks a lot, Ducky,” he grumbled.

“You’re welcome, my dear boy,” Ducky ignored his tone. “Now, do put the sixpence in your shoe or I shall be forced to relate to you the history behind that old saying for brides…”

“I’m doing it,” Tony toed a shoe off. “Just in the shoe? Not somewhere special?” he looked at his shoe.

Ducky nodded.

Tony looked at the coin before he put it in his shoe, pushing it towards the toe end, and put the shoe back on. “There. Happy now?”

“Quite,” Ducky smiled. He patted Tony’s shoulder and ruffled his hair. “Congratulations, young man. Now if you could have just shaved for your wedding day, hmmm?”

Tony laughed as Ducky exited the room. As he finished his wine, the door opened again and Jimmy had Victoria and Tali with him, both girls dressed in identical pink flower girl dresses.

“It’s time, Tony,” Palmer smiled at him.

Tony nodded and stood, scooping Tali up when she ran up to him holding her arms up. He and Jimmy carried their daughters downstairs to where Breena, Bishop, Abby and McGee were waiting. Bishop waited for a signal before she began her march out into the yard, followed by Abby, both women carrying a small bouquet of spring flowers interspersed with cherry blossoms. Tony spared a quick thought wondering how it was he ended up with bridesmaids at his wedding.

Then Breena handed each girl a little basket full of pink cherry blossoms, matching their dresses perfectly. Each girl also had a cherry blossom arrangement affixed to their wrist, and Tali also had the bouquet she had chosen tucked in the basket with the cherry blossoms. Breena started them off, hand in hand, and then ran down the yard. Tony peeked out to see white folding chairs arranged in Gibbs’ back yard, with an aisle in the middle. All the chairs seemed to be filled, and everyone watched as the two little girls giggled their way down the aisle, haphazardly tossing cherry blossoms from their baskets, and slowly making their way to where Abby and now Breena stood, beckoning them on. Surprisingly, both girls cooperated and made it all the way down without getting too distracted or taking too much time. Then Tony had to take in a deep breath when he realized that the far end of Gibbs’ back yard was bordered by trees in full bloom. Cherry trees, with lovely pink blossoms, some starting to fall off and litter the yard with lovely pink petals. Just like the petals of the blossoms that Tali and Victoria were carrying. Just like the blossoms that Tony and Tali had spent an afternoon enjoying.

Tony had never really paid attention to Gibbs’ back yard before, other than to patrol and secure it when they were under threat. But truly, it was beautiful. The cherry trees were blooming in the background, and tons of spring bulbs were blooming all around, infusing everything with bright colors. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and narcissi in all colors were in tidy flower beds, by the house, lining the yard, and a mass of them by the cherry trees. Tony couldn’t believe it. Abby had actually pulled off the romantic wedding that she’d wanted.

Then McGee gave Tony a hug before he started down the aisle – he was Tony’s best man. Maid of honor? Tony’s brain supplied, making him snicker to himself. If he was the bride, then goddamnit, Probie was his maid of honor.

“You’re up,” Jimmy told him, patting his back. “Congratulations, Tony.”

Tony grinned at him, still struck by the sight of both of their cute little daughters walking down the aisle towards Abby and Breena, and in the background, the cherry trees in full bloom.

Jimmy slipped out and found his seat next to Breena. Tony took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and stepped out into the yard. All eyes turned to look at him. Well, then. No need to feel at all self conscious, he told himself. He was just going to march on down the aisle and get fake married to his ex-Boss. No need to panic. Besides he was doing this for Tali. Do this for Tali.

Slightly hysterically, his thoughts wandered. Since he was the one walking down the aisle and not Gibbs, everyone must think he’s the bride. What the fuck ever. If he couldn’t change people’s minds, it was at least time to get it over with. He started the short walk down the aisle, thanking god that at least they weren’t playing the wedding march. He would have shriveled up and died if he was walking down the aisle to “Here Comes the Bride”.

Gibbs stood, dressed in what looked to be a new suit. Dark gray, blue shirt, a tie with diamond pattern on it. Tony did a double take. It wasn’t one of Gibbs’ court suits. It looked expensive. Hell, it looked to be a Tom Ford, maybe. What the fuck? Was Gibbs wearing a designer suit for their wedding? And the tie looked somewhat familiar. Tony realized that the tie was a Zegna tie that he’d given Gibbs a few years ago on his birthday. He’d tied it around a couple of bottles of bourbon. He thought surely Gibbs would have thrown the tie away, or given it away. But he’d apparently kept it and he was wearing it now, at their wedding. And then his thoughts returned to the suit. Gibbs was wearing a designer suit that looked like it actually fit him – Abby surely had had it tailored. Gibbs, wearing a tailored designer suit!

Tony raised his eyebrows, lips quirking up in a grin, unabashedly looking Gibbs up and down in appreciation and disbelief as he walked down the aisle. Gibbs gave him a shrug and a wry grin in return, understanding immediately Tony’s expression. Tony shook his head and gave him a huge smile, his heart accelerating at the thought that Gibbs had dressed up for him. Gibbs, his bastard ex-Boss, had dressed up in an expensive new designer suit, just for him. It made his heart flutter that Gibbs had gone to all that trouble for him. And made him feel a little bad that he was the one who had dressed down for this. Not that he’d expected Gibbs to turn up in his jeans and a hoodie, but really? A designer suit? It made him smile, a genuine one, and the smile stayed for the entire walk. And the whole time, Tony kept his eyes on Gibbs, and Gibbs’ intense blue gaze never strayed from him. The team lead was grinning at him the entire way. Tony couldn’t help thinking that the cherry blossoms in the trees in the background was the perfect backdrop for this.

When he got up to Gibbs, the older man reached out and Tony instinctively put his hand out, allowing Gibbs to take his hand and draw him close. Then Tali screamed “Daddy!” and threw herself at him, despite Abby’s efforts to contain her.

Tony picked her up and settled her on his hip, shaking his head when Abby tried to take her away. “It’s fine, Abs,” he assured her, as he stood next to Gibbs, ready for the vows. The judge began the ceremony, which felt like a blurry dream to Tony. There was a quiet pause when the judge asked the traditional question, ending with ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’, and Tony thought this would have been the perfect time for a terrorist to crash their wedding and blow things up, if they lived in a movie. But nothing happened. Instead, after a brief silence, the judge continued on. They exchanged their “I dos” and Tony vaguely thought they were done. But then the judge started again, asking Gibbs to repeat after him.

“I, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, do take thee Anthony DiNozzo…”

Gibbs recited the traditional vows deliberately and confidently. And when Ducky handed it to him, he slid the wedding band onto Tony’s finger until it abutted the sapphire engagement ring. He squeezed Tony’s hand and smiled at him. He also pulled a necklace out of his pocket and slung it over Tali’s head, settling the pendant securely on Tali’s chest.

“You’re my family too now, Tali,” he told the girl, and kissed her cheek.

She looked down at her new necklace and giggled. “Like Daddy’s!” she exclaimed, and Tony looked and saw that the necklace was essentially three sapphires in a row, set in platinum, a lovely echo of the engagement ring on his finger. Tali’s obvious happiness and the care and thought that Gibbs had put into this was suddenly too much, and to Tony’s horror, he felt his eyes well with tears. Gibbs was making him and Tali officially part of his family, and this would allow Tony to adopt her. It was overwhelming.

Gibbs’ hand on his face, calloused fingers brushing the tears away brought him back. Gibbs’ blue eyes were gentle, as was his smile. “Your turn now, DiNozzo,” he nodded to the waiting judge.

Tony sniffed and nodded, ears turning red, and when Abby held out her arms, Tali happily went to her, distracted by her new necklace, showing it to the Goth, exclaiming “Shiny” and “Pretty”, making Gibbs smile at them.

Tony turned to the judge, and began his vows.

“I, Anthony DiNozzo, do take thee Leroy Jethro Gibbs…”

And at the appropriate time, McGee handed him the ring. He took Gibbs’ hand, his own fingers trembling a little, as he carefully put the ring on the older man’s hand, unaware that he was smiling shyly up through his eyelashes at Gibbs as he was doing it.

And then they were holding hands and the judge was grinning at them. “By the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss the groom.”

Tony’s eyes widened when Gibbs’ other hand snaked around, cupping the back of his head, and Gibbs moved in to kiss him.

Gibbs was moving in to kiss him! At their wedding. They were married! Tony felt that tide of hysteria start to bubble up, and he told himself to calm the fuck down. Gibbs was just going to kiss his cheek again and the man had done that quite a few times by now. He knew the drill. So he went with it, angling his face for the kiss on the cheek.

Gibbs leaned in, and pulled him close – that was a little different than usual. And then Gibbs’ lips were on him – his _lips_ , not his cheek as he’d expected – , a gentle press, slight pressure, and all Tony could think was _Gibbs was kissing him! On the lips!_ Right in front of everyone! The man went unerringly right for his mouth that time. And Gibbs’ lips were warm and soft, and moving gently over his. Tony changed the angle of his head, slotting them more comfortably together, and began kissing back, eyes fluttering shut. Gibbs continued to kiss him, sucking at his lower lip, and nibbling gently, hint of his tongue slipping out and tasting his lips, and he felt Gibbs’ fingers on the back of his head, firm but gentle, keeping him right there as they continued to kiss. Tony swallowed a moan and was on the verge of opening his mouth and demanding Gibbs’ tongue when, over the blood pounding in his ears, he heard the sound of applause and wolf whistles.

Gibbs sucked on his bottom lip before he pulled away with a wistful smile. Tony’s eyelids fluttered open and he watched his husband (his _husband!_ ) turn and smile at the crowd of people who were on their feet, clapping, cheering and whistling. All Tony could do was stare in wonder at his husband, at his friends who surrounded him, laughing and smiling so happily, and at the people who were celebrating their marriage with them. His eyes prickled with tears again. All these people were so happy for them. He couldn’t believe it.

Gibbs slung an arm around his shoulder, pulled him against him, and pressed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“Didn’t think you were gonna be the type to cry at your own wedding,” he murmured in Tony’s ear, smiling fondly as he swiped Tony’s tears away again and brush his warm lips on Tony’s cheek comfortingly.

“Shut up,” Tony told him gruffly, although he put an arm around Gibbs’ waist. To balance himself. Yeah, that’s why he did that.

“It’s sweet,” Gibbs was teasing him now, but gently, and not in the vicious and cutthroat way Tony was used to from his ex-Boss. Gibbs’ mouth was so close to his ear, causing him to shudder involuntarily when Gibbs whispered.

Tony gave him a half hearted glare, but then he broke into a smile, unable to resist Gibbs’ good mood. Tali jumped back into Tony’s arms. She was smiling happily and fiddling with her new necklace, and humming _Beauty and the Beast_ under her breath, making Tony smile at her. Gibbs kissed her cheek, brushed his lips gently over Tony’s one more time, before they walked back down the aisle, Tali on Tony’s hip. Tony was smiling so much his face hurt.

The rest of the day was a huge whirl. Tony was pulled into so many pictures with so many people. Also Abby had apparently hired a professional photographer who made them pose for photos. There were a few pictures in the beginning of just Tony with Gibbs, Tony with McGee, Abby and Bishop, Tony with his father, even a few of Tony by himself. But then Tali became a little anxious and refused to let Tony go so all the pictures after that had Tali on Tony’s hip, clinging tightly to him.

But there seemed to be so many people there, offering their congratulations. Geri and her husband were there, of course. Vance had brought Kayla and Jared. Orli had come. Fornell was there with Emily. Torres, Quinn and Reeves were there. A bunch of the LEOs, the DA, JAG and others that they had worked with over the years, from Metro PD to other agencies had made it. A few of Tony’s frat brothers and their wives had flown in. It became overwhelming not just for Tali, but for Tony, too.

While the caterers were setting up and transforming Gibbs’ back yard for the reception, Gibbs took Tony’s arm and led him towards the cherry trees for a little quiet time. How Gibbs knew that Tony was reaching his limit, he didn’t know, but then Gibbs always did seem to know him well. It was what had made them work so well together for so many years. Tony and Tali immediately relaxed as they established a distance from the crowd of people and walked quietly among the trees and looked at the flowers.

Tali even allowed herself to be put down and she walked in between Tony and Gibbs, holding Tony’s hand as they walked. At some point, Tony looked down and saw that Gibbs was holding Tali’s other hand as she walked in between them. He turned, caught Gibbs looking at him, and he gave the blue-eyed man a smile, realizing that Gibbs would be there for him and Tali now. Gibbs was solid and real again, and standing next to Tali, holding her hand securely.

Tali would be safe now, Tony knew. He breathed a mental sigh of relief. Tali was going to be OK.

When they returned to the festivities, they were all calmer and better able to handle the crowd again. The food was well received, and the speeches thoroughly embarrassed Tony, given that McGee, Abby and Bishop all insisted on speaking on his behalf. Ducky’s speech was quiet and funny, emphasizing love and family. Vance gave a short speech talking about both Tony and Gibbs through the years. All in all, it was a truly festive occasion, which somehow managed to completely surprise Tony. He’d expected it to be quiet and sedate, with maybe ten people who would look at each other with eyerolls and impatience. But instead there were more people crammed into Gibbs’ back yard than he’d thought possible, and they were all happy for them. It was almost beyond his comprehension.

When the cake was brought out, Tony realized that Abby had snuck in a tier of the cherry blossom cake that Torres had liked. It fit in beautifully with the whole flowers and cherry blossom theme that their wedding had somehow taken on. Tony fed Gibbs the customary piece of cake carefully, not wanting to get cake on Gibbs’ snappy new suit, but Gibbs felt no such qualms. He smooshed the cake into Tony’s face, and was on his way to a second smooshing when Tony ducked and Gibbs accidentally smooshed cake into Tali’s face, since she was still attached to Tony’s hip. Luckily that only made the little girl laugh.

And throughout the evening, when he or Tali approached their limits of exposure to people, Gibbs would whisk them both away to the edge of his property, and walk with them among the blooming cherry trees and spring flowers, until they felt able to cope with mingling with happy people again.

Abby had managed to even cram in a small dance floor and someone – probably McGee – had rigged the back yard with speakers and lights. Music was playing. Bishop was the DJ for the wedding. And rather than have a traditional first dance for the newlyweds, everyone was invited to dance. Tony danced with Tali and Victoria, and then with Tali on his hip, he danced with Abby, then Bishop. Delilah held a giggling Tali in her lap while Tony wheeled her around on the dance floor. Then Gibbs grabbed his hand and they danced together, Tali clinging tight to Tony, refusing to let him go by this time. But it didn’t feel weird to dance with Gibbs and Tali. It felt right for some unfathomable reason.

And throughout the day, Gibbs seemed to be constantly touching him. Holding his hand. Sliding an arm around his shoulder and pulling him close. Brushing his fingers through Tony’s hair as he walked by. And casually brushing his lips on Tony’s cheek, his temple, or his knuckles as they interacted with their guests. Tony catalogued and stored each touch and each kiss, and ignored the way his lips tingled with the memory of their first actual kiss, the kiss that signified that they were married, and knew that he would be analyzing this evening obsessively when his brain finally caught up with his emotions. But it was too much to think about at that point, so he let it go, along with the guilt of deceiving his friends and his family. Somehow, in the heat of the moment, it didn’t feel like a lie. Another feeling to analyze on another day.

Tony didn’t know how it happened, but at some point during the night, he ended up sitting at a table, Tali snuggled into his body, drowsy and on the cusp of sleep, Gibbs’ jacket wrapped securely around her for warmth. A slight chill had come into the spring night when the sun had gone down. And Abby, McGee, Delilah, Bishop, Jimmy and Ducky were all sitting with him, talking and laughing quietly. Gibbs returned with a plate of food for Tony to pick at, and he dropped a kiss on Tony’s temple as he sat himself down next to him. He held the plate where Tony could easily reach it one handed to feed himself without jostling the sleepy little girl in his arms. And Tony suddenly realized that he was happy. He was surrounded by his family now, and they were all going to help protect Tali from whatever might be out there. He wasn’t alone anymore. It didn’t mean that all his problems had been magically resolved, or that there wouldn’t be any issues going forward, in his fake-although-it-didn’t-feel-that-fake-right-now marriage, and in the process of adopting Tali. But it did mean that he wasn’t going to face it all alone. Any one of these people surrounding him would have his back, and he would have theirs. It was what you did for family.

The tight ball in his gut, the one that had been there ever since the DNA results came back, was easing away slowly. He wasn’t alone anymore. He looked around the table. Gibbs was laughing at something Abby said, Victoria was cuddled up in Breena’s arms, fast asleep, with Ducky quietly telling Breena a story. And Bishop had kicked her shoes off and was sitting cross legged on the chair, munching on food as she, Palmer, McGee, and Abby teased each other. The familiar banter was comforting.

“Hey,” Gibbs voice broke through his thoughts.

Tony turned to him, one eyebrow raised in question.

“Keep eating,” Gibbs held a forkful of salmon up to him. Without thinking, he leaned forward a little and wrapped his lips around the fork, giving Gibbs a smile as he chewed on the food.

He breathed out a long sigh, and was surprised that something was replacing the tight ball of stress. A new emotion, and not one that he’d experienced much of in his life. It was a feeling that gave him warmth and security, and he didn’t need to work hard to identify it.

He was happy. Tony DiNozzo was a happy man.

He didn’t exactly know how it happened, but he’d found his place again. He now had somewhere to begin again, to remake himself into a better person. He was a father, a friend again, soon to be a teacher, and now he was a husband. He’d found a new beginning. For himself and for his daughter. He couldn’t ask for more.

[](http://imgur.com/SacYveN)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The end. :D Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me. I know, I actually went there and wrote my version of the Tali story, something I never thought I would do. I really meant to ignore her existence in my stories, but then this story came to mind and well, here we are!
> 
> For those who asked, yes, I am planning a sequel. I haven't started it or done anything concrete to get there yet, but I do think this story calls for a sequel. It's just that the muse wanted the wedding to be the end point, and be Somewhere to Begin for Tony and Tali. I made Tony cry at his wedding because Michael Weatherly cried at his wedding, which I thought was cute. ;)
> 
> I don't know if you've noticed the amazing artwork in this story? Huge huge thanks and hugs and love to Red_Pink_Dots who was my partner in crime. She added so much detail to the story and enriched it with her ideas and imagery which I couldn't help but incorporate into the story, and she read my drafts and was incredibly encouraging. She also had so much patience for my dithering on rings and other images. But the end work that she made is gorgeous and way beyond my expectations. Merci beaucoup, my friend.
> 
> As usual, I give you the songs that I listened to while writing:  
> * [Somewhere Only We Know](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW_ZiojrkVY) (Lily Allen) - the title comes from a line in this song  
> * [What the World Needs Now is Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At1qTKjiz-I) (Missy Hale) - I listened to this version after watching Boss Baby with my kids  
> * [Single Ladies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY) (Beyoncé)- I blame Bishop for putting this song in my head!  
> * [Brother](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_28vIzcAiKc) (Jensen Ackles + cast of Supernatural) - this was the song I listened to for the Tony-McGee conversation and interactions
> 
> Thank you for all your comments, kudos, bookmarks and subscriptions. I have very much enjoyed all the comments, including the conspiracy theories, from the plausible to the interesting, to the absurd (Thor disguised as Gibbs marrying Tony, and Thor being Tali's father and then impregnating Tony with Tali's half-sibling, and I believe cats were given away as wedding door gifts?) :D. Red_Pink_Dots and I never even thought Tali's paternity would be that big a deal but apparently it is! I love it. Thank you for making me think and for making me laugh with your comments (you know who you are!).
> 
> For those who might be curious, this is what [Tali's necklace](https://www.gemologica.com/images/IH2313-3-stone-necklace-silver-diamond-round-blue-sapphire.jpg) looks like. Yes, I spent too much time clicking on pictures of way too many sapphire pendants before settling on this. And yes, poor Red_Pink_Dots had to cope with clicking on pictures of pendants for me, too. :D
> 
> Red_Pink_Dots came up with this for [Tony's wedding outfit](http://akns-images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2016418/rs_634x1024-160518161229-634-michael-weavely-cbs-upfront.jpg).
> 
> Again, thanks for all your support for us through this story. You guys are the best!
> 
> Love,  
> -j  
> xoxo
> 
> ps - I will be going back through and replying to all comments. Apologies, I'm a little behind right now
> 
> pps - Red_Pink_Dots, time to create your art masterpost! :D

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Art masterpost for Somewhere to Begin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10782408) by [Red_Pink_Dots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/pseuds/Red_Pink_Dots)
  * [Art Inspired by "Somewhere To Begin"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11566689) by [Sazzy260](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sazzy260/pseuds/Sazzy260)




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